Dappled Shadows on the Leaves [Mie]

[Colt]

43rd of summer, 513 a.v late morning The day had started off nicely enough. The early morning had been filled with mist, a mist that had been scorched away soon enough by the rising of the sun. The aftermath of summer rain hung thick in the air, and underneath the trees was a damp darkness that provided glorious relief from the burning heat of the day. Shafts of light pierced the canopy above, throwing incomprehensible patterns across the forest floor that made it difficult to perceive where one thing ended and another began. A lovely day by any Syliran native. Of course, the Drykas found it horrid. “Damn,” Palar said, pulling his cloak tighter around his shoulders. “It’s summer; by Zulrav’s name, we should be sweating, not shivering.” To a city-dweller, Palar was young; not possibly more than seventeen years of age, he was already tanned more than he should have been, and if one looked past the cloak to his bare chest then the scars there would speak of a hard life, even in his few years on Mizahar. He was at the age where he could be considered a boy just as much as he could be considered a man, and yet his hazel eyes burned with a fierceness that any Syliran would agree should never be in such a young face. But burn they did, even more so with irritation at the unusual climate. “Bah, these stone-dwellers must grow fur to stand it,” said Shiva from where she sat across the clearing, balancing upon a large stone so the forest floor didn’t soak the seat of her pants. “Either that or they have webbed feet. Gods, why is everything so wet? I feel like I’m breathing water.” Beside her, Narek nodded. He agreed, though he didn’t say anything more than the sign; his opinions were usually the same as Palar and Shiva, so he didn’t need to repeat them. The clearing in which they sat was a mile or so out from the city; the large raid three days prior had put the city of Syliras on alert, and there was little to do but stalk the woods and capture whoever they could find. There were the farmers just outside the walls, but they were now guarded closely by Knights and squires. There hadn’t been any new groups of people on the roads, but it had only been three days and there were bound to be more sometime or another. Palar snorted suddenly and stood. “I’ve had enough of this,” he said, signing annoyance and exasperation. “I’m going to look around again.” Shiva rolled her eyes. “We’ve been looking for stragglers all morning,” she pointed out. “I hardly think there’s going to be some now.” Foolish. Annoyance, annoyance, maybe this time, possibility, hope, maybe. “Well, it’s better than sitting here,” he said decisively. He needed to walk, do something, anything. Doing nothing invited unpleasant thoughts, and at least he would be trying to get something done. He turned to the blue roan mare wandering through the trees a few yards away. Come, dearest, he signed. Time to move. She raised her head at his gestures, nickering in assent and moving towards him. Though she wore no bit or bridle, she did not shift when he swung smoothly into the odd not-quite-saddle strapped to her back, and responded instantly to his knees when he guided her deeper into the trees.

[Mie]

Mie's feet dug deep into the moist ground, even as she did her best to keep lightfooded. Her eyes was peeled at the ground in front of her, searching for some new tracks. She had already been on this route yesterday and had found good places to set up a couple of traps. Her bow was fastened at her back, the string dangling down, ready to be stringed for use. Her hair was braided with an old leather string holding her hair in place but despite the effort a few strands of hair had escaped and tickled her face.

This morning she had left her horse, dazzle, tied up at her camp site. She was not too worried about her, she had often left to check up on her traps before heading back, finding him comfortably eating away at the rich grass. Even if someone stumbled upon it, she wasn't too sure it would be of any interest to them. The horse was old and she had all her money on her. Not much to steal in her little makeshift camp.

"By Aquiras beard, I was sure something would be in here" she mumbled to herself under her breath. She was bend down to check for one of the smaller traps she had placed near a few rabbit tracks that seemed fresh, but it was as empty as she had left it. She got up and stretched, wiped the moist from her forehead and stared at the tracks for a moment to catch her thoughts. She had not had much luck on this trip at all, and she hadn't really got enough ration to stay out here much longer. She let out a deep sigh and was about to turn back when a different set of tracks caught her glance in the corner of her eye.

With a few quick hops she was beside them and her fingers touched the earth next to them. It wasn't too old by the look of it, and she was sure they weren't there when she set the trap up. By the looks of it all, a deer had passed by not long ago. She grinned at the extra chance to bring home some goods before setting of in the direction the tracks went.

[Colt]

A bird called at Mie’s passing, setting the traveling Drykas on edge. He looked up to the heavy canopy, suddenly feeling very closed in between all these trees. The sky was little more that a few blue dots between the leaves; even inside a pavilion the center flap afforded more view than this. The roan mare beneath him whickered, letting her rider know that she sensed something. A Drykas knew to always trust their horse’s senses, and a quick glance at her face informed the young man that she had smelled something interesting. Her ears were pointed in curiosity, but her body was relaxed—she did not feel threatened, and that in turn set Palar somewhat at ease. He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “Show me what you smell,” he bid her. With an understanding that only a Strider and Drykas could share, the mare slid into a trot. For his part, Palar simply sat back and waited—she knew where she was going, he did not. She pulled into another clearing, only this one was occupied. The Drykas blinked in surprise, quickly scanning the area of any signs of the owner. There didn’t seem to be anyone there, though the old horse staked nearby raised his head at their appearance. He must have been what his mare had smelled, though she snorted in annoyance at how unimpressive the specimen was—she’d obviously thought she was going to meet a new stallion, and she became suddenly disinterested in the entire site. Palar, however, felt quite differently. He took her in a slow circle, examining everything for signs of who exactly it was that lived here. The person in question seemed to be absent, and the scraps of flesh and fur lying about suggested a hunter. The Drykas boy found a small bit of pleasure in that fact; hunters would always make fine additions to the fold. Whoever it was had obviously gone for a morning hunt, and with the sun climbing higher they were sure to be back soon. He urged his horse back towards the trees; he had no real skill in climbing—the Sea of Grass was almost completely flat—but on top of his Strider he could easily slip into the crook of a tree without trouble. With a bit of maneuvering he managed to bend in such a way that he could access the straps of the yvas and remove it from the mare’s back. She watched him bemusedly when he put the riding pad on the limb beside him. Go, he gestured to her. Over there, to the camp. Walk, stand, anything, doesn’t matter, just stay over there. He could almost imagine her frowning in puzzlement, but she did as he said and went to wander the camp. Palar had not dismounted during his assessment, and so the mare’s hoofprints were the only ones that would seem foreign. To someone like Mie, it would seem as if the blue roan was naught but a stray horse had simply wandered into her camp. With the bait in place, Palar settled into the crook of the tree to wait.

[Mie]

As the tracks became more recent, she slowed her pace and carefully placed her foots on the ground, avoiding the obvious twigs and leafs. Her breathing had slowed and her eyes darted from the tracks to the road ahead of her and back again. She stopped in her tracks when, in a little clearing, she saw the deer grassing away, without a sign that showed it was alerted. She slowly grabbed her bow and unhinged it, quickly stringed the bow and moved carefully to a better position where the sun didn't directly mess with her vision.

She picked an arrow out of the quiver and moved it unto the bow, lifting it up, stretching the line out, her hand touching her cheek. Slowly now girl, don't mess this shot up, she thought to herself as she aimed. As she let go of the string the arrow shot past her and hit it's target in the neck, but the deer bucked and ran of in the opposite direction from her. Shit. She quickly jumped out from her hiding spot and darted after the wounded deer, running as fast as she was taught, sticks and brushes ripping away at her hair and clothes, leaving small scratches on her.

The deer became slower and slower as she proceeded to follow it, and finally it stumbled over on its side, bleeding heavily from the wound in its neck. It draw quick heavy breaths, as did Mie when she finally slowed down and walked over to it. It tried to get up but was too weak to pull itself so it slouched over again. Mie quickly grabbed a knife in her backpack and kneeled down, and with a few quick movements, slit its throat. The blood poured out of the neck and quickly turned the soil to red under her feet. She looked around to get a better feel for where she were before sighing with exhaustion. She would have to leave the deer here for now, as she certainly couldn't drag it with her all the way to camp. She would have to get her horse. She kneeled down beside the deer and brushed her hand over the matted fur, leaving a trace of blood as she did. "Alright beauty, you stay put and I'll be right back". She didn't like leaving it out there for predators to get at, but she hadn't taken all of her tools with her. She pulled off one end of the string from the bow and placed it back on her back before leaving the deer and heading back for camp.

As she neared the camp a good 45 minutes later she saw the tracks leading toward her camp and her heartbeat went up a little. Who can be out here at. She closed in on the camp, unsure what to do so she readied her bow in her hands, placed an arrow on it and slowly moved into the campsite. She loosened and tightened her grip as the drying blood was stiffening her grip, and as she stepped into the campsite she immediately, with a held breath, pointed the bow towards the moving object. She exhaled as she saw the horse wandering aimlessly around her camp. Raising an eyebrow at the random horse in her camp she went to check inside the tent, finding it empty she lowered her bow. "What in the world are you doing here?" She asked the horse slightly bemused.

[Colt]

Both Palar and the mare heard the hunter coming; her or she was making no move to hide their approach, at least for a for minutes; something, however caused them to slow. Now aware of the direction, Palar reoriented himself so that he was as invisible as possible from where the hunter would come while still allowing himself ample view. She came cautiously into the clearing, bow in hand and half-drawn to shoot at a moment’s notice. Her skin was tanned and her hair was a shade between brown and black, like rich earth after a rain. She caught sight of the mare, drew her bow, and Palar’s world stopped. His breath, his heart, his thoughts; everything became suspended in an eternity where all he could see was the point of her arrow aiming to his Strider. Gods, no, please don’t, leave her, no, please, no! When the woman lowered her weapon, Palar almost fell out of the tree in relief. He thanked all his lucky stars as she approached her tent, looked inside and then turned her attention to the mare and questioned it as if expecting the horse to respond. The mare, acutely aware of her bonded rider’s sudden stress, pranced nervously in the direction of the trees. She did not run, but it was obvious that she wanted to, torn as she was between her rider’s commands and her desire to comfort him about whatever it was that had made him so anxious. She began to half-circle Mie, whinnying in indecision.

[Mie]

"Woah woah calm down, I am not gonna hurt you" Mie took a step back with her hands in front of her, obviously unaware of the mares concerns, thinking that it was just uneasy with a stranger around. Was this a wild horse? She doubted it. Not really an aboundance of wild horses around, so it must've come from somewhere. Were they possibly nearby? She paced a little back and forth while staring at the mysterious horse. She would have to question the horses apperance after she fetched the deer, before any predators could reach it. Well it could also fetch a nice price if she sold it so she couldn't just have him run off again, not if it could be helped.

She moved to the tent opening that was wide open from her last glance, and put her bow carefully down, and her backpack next to it. She opened the backpack and pulled out a long rope and made a quick noose. With the noose in one hand she slowly approached the seemingly wild horse and with a soothing voice she said "Shhh.. There there.. I am not gonna hurt you. I certainly didn't expect any visitors. Just come here and we'll figure all this out." She tried gently putting the nose around the horse without alerting it.

[Colt]

The mare continued to dance around Mie, turning the woman full circle so that her back was facing the tree in which Palar sat. He narrowed his eyes and observed the two of them intently. Her voice remained low and calm, and the Drykas raised an eyebrow in curiosity when she reached into her pack and withdrew a rope. She made a noose, and a corner of his mouth twitched upwards in amusement. He wasn’t even offended by the notion of her trying to lasso his Strider; it was the kind of battle that was lost before it was even begun. Still, it was a very good sign that she was making an effort—hunter, friend to horses and a woman. Yes, she was what he was here for; in his mind, the woman was born to be a Drykas. She just didn’t know it yet. The mare saw the lasso, and, with uncanny intellect, turned her posture from wariness to outright indignation; instead of uneasy prancing, she stabbed the ground viciously and snorted in warning. She was a Cyphrus Strider, spurning all tack but the barest of necessities; she didn’t even wear a bridle, and she would certain never stand for something so crass as a lasso. The blue roan fixed an irritated eye on Mie, flicking her tail haughtily, and Palar decided that it was time to announce himself. “You cannot catch her, huntress,” Palar said in Common, loud enough for her to hear. His voice was deep and thick with an accent that Mie did not know, though not exactly unpleasant. The young man eased himself from his perch and landed heavily on the forest floor. He grimaced briefly as his knees were jarred, but in another moment he had straightened and was looking as Mie with a level gaze. “Dala goes where she wishes, and if she does not wish the rope to fall about her head then it will not come to pass.”

[Mie]

Having focused entirely on the mare in her attempt to capture it, it was quite a shock to her to her another voice and she almost jumped out of her skin. She spun around quickly to face the stranger who jumped down on the ground in front of her, with a somewhat clumsy approach. He seemed completely unfamiliar to her, with his thick accent and strange garb, a combination of oddities that made as much sense to her as the strange horse in her camp. She wished she hadn't put her bow down, and in her mind she counted the distance it would take for her to get to the tent opening and fetch her bow, a distance that seemed much farther than in reality it was.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" She answered with a voice a little too high pitched, a little too nervous. She was moving around uncomfortably, her hand loosening and tightening the grip on the noose, hands getting sweaty. His calm demeanor did nothing to ease her, instead it only promoted the feeling of unease, was there other nearby? Inside she cursed herself, she didn't even have her skinning knife on her, it rested in her backpack. She dug her feet deep into the ground, ready to dart at any sign of aggression on the strangers part, ready to grab for a weapon, any weapon at this point.

[Colt]

Palar raised his hands, palms facing Mie and the barest of smiles upon his lips. “Peace, huntress. I wish no harm upon you.” He dropped his arms to his sides, though kept his posture eased as he stepped from the trees and into the sun so that she could see him better. He was young, younger even than Mie herself, with sandy hair that couldn’t seem to decide if it wanted to be brown or blonde. His eyes were a combination of blue and brown, and his skin had been bronzed by a life lived under the sun. His cloak was of an odd cut, but beneath it was more so—he was going about shirtless, allowing Mie half-glimpses of a lean and wiry chest. Still, he seemed unembarrassed, even unaware that it was something to be embarrassed about. “I am Palar Grassrunner and a stranger to this land, but if you would have me, I am a friend. I was passing when my Dala caught wind of your camp and wished to investigate. You are foreign to her, and so she is fearful. You are also wielding a means to imprison her, which she feels insulted by. She will not allow you to come near, for only her true rider may touch her head without permission.” To demonstrate, he turned his attention to his Strider. Come, dearest, he signed. To an outside it might have seemed a simple change in posture, but the mare understood and was quite glad of it. She forsook her dance with Mie and almost sprinted to where he rider stood, whickering in relief. “Calm, Dala. Calm,” he said aloud in Pavi. Then, to Mie; “We grew up beneath the same speech; she does not know Common, and so Pavi must be spoken to her if you wish to come near.” I am sorry, he added for Dala. Annoyed by his command for her to stay, she stomped once to indicate that she was quite cross with him. At least, until he began to scratch her forehead. Though the tried to maintain her anger, it was soon subdued by the attention. “She came with me from far away, and she is not like your horses. Her kind and my kind are together always, one with the other. To us, to touch someone else’s horse is like touching someone else’s wife. Only if I allow it will she stay for your hand.” He smiled at his Strider, the wistful carelessness that was almost what one might expect a father to look on a child, a brother to a sister or a man to a lover. It was like all of these, but the same as none. The softness seemed almost out of place on his obviously hardened face, and in an instant it was gone, and he was talking to Mie again. "I find myself surprised that a woman would be so brave as to hunt outside of your walls of stone. I have found that no matter where you travel, it is men that are the idiotic ones; the forest is very dangerous to tread within in times as these, even for a native to the stone city. You are a native, I assume?"

[Mie]

She shifted the weight on her feet and looked at palar with a slightly curious look. Not entirely sure wether to trust the stranger, even though he had told her to do just that, she took a small step backward as he stepped forward. She found the way he blatantly ran around half-naked to be somewhat of an oddity, she herself were dressed in city clothes, a pair of off-white colored loose fitting pants that hugged her ankles, a short sleeved, tighly fitted shirt in the same offwhite as her pants, and the same shoes she preffered, a black pair that curled at the tip. Not an impressive garb, and certainly not what one would think the cleverest to hunt in, but she felt comfortable in it.

Mie found the thought of an offended horse to be absolutely riddicolous. Sure her own horse had its time where it was more stubborn than others, specially as it aged, but to think that it could actually understand her intensions as far as to be offended. She tittered as he went on to describe that there were specials rules as to who was allowed to touch the horse.

She was somewhat calmed by his demeanor, he didn't seem to be a threat to her, and even though he seemed foreign to him, with his weird language and strange dialect she was comforted by his obvious care for the horse.

She frowned at his comment toward her " A compliment wrapped in a insult is not really a compliment at all. I am not brave nor stupid to hunt, it is what I know and how I get by, besides, what could there possibly be to hunt Inside the stone walls" She lifted an eyebrow and stroke a sassy pose with one knee bend and her hand on her hip. She walked over beside her own horse and ran her fingers through the mane "And yes.. I do come from here, but I am actually in a sort of hurry.. I have a kill waiting for me not far from here"

She didn't know where this was heading and even though she was curious where he came from and what he would be doing out in her domain, she couldn't just let the carcass to itself, she wanted it before it started decomposing.