[Thunder Bay] Commiserating Hunters (Azira)

[Kovac]

Kovac stared out of the window, the watery ice pellets beating against the glass, making it difficult to discern anything of the world outside. The woman, earlier a sharp-tongued hellcat with the amiability of a viper, now spoke in soft tones, idly playing with the crumbled bread in her hands. The fact that she though he could have been insincere, that he didn't mean it when he said he would shoot with her, made Kovac a bit sad. Not for himself, but for her. Azira sounded so lonely.

But Kovac was encouraged when the huntress answered his question about hunting. Life crept back into her voice as she spoke, her love for hunting obvious in her suddenly excited reply. A small smile crept across his face as he looked down to the redheaded teen. "You are right, there is nothing like it. I enjoy it too, the thrill of the hunt, like a contest between you and the prey. I almost regret it when its too easy. Also, it gets you out of Wind Reach. Though, wouldn't mind being in a warm bed right now." He laughed lightly. "You are going to be alright Azira. Just listening to you talk about how you like hunting, this thing isn't going to be able to stop you from that."

Once he fell silent, Kovac noted the silence. The storm was quiet. Going to the door, Kovac cracked it open. The icy rain had stopped. The thick threatening clouds remained, the wind stiff still, but there was a lull in the tempest's fury. Everything was coated in ice though.

Ducking back in, Kovac grabbed his dried Katinu. "Lets go outside, there is a lull. Maybe we can find somewhere else to go, though I don't know where. At the least, we can snap off a few arrows!"

[Azira]

   

The teen knew that she was enthusiastic about hunting but it was nice to find someone who actually agreed with her. Perhaps there were others who do adored hunting but she wasn't used to conversing with the other hunters so Azira honestly didn't know. She found herself smiling gratefully at the man when he told her that after what she'd said about her profession, her lack of shooting ability wouldn't stop her. He was probably right she decided but she couldn't see it right at this moment, maybe soon... Well it'd have to be soon wouldn't it? She couldn't risk becoming a Dek.

Azira was surprised when Kovac pointed out that there was a lull in the storm. She hadn't even noticed that the ice had stopped hammering on the roof, something that should have been very noticeable. Well, the girl had kind of been preoccupied so it was understandable she supposed. The Avora rose to be feet and made her way across to the door, dismayed to discover that there was ice everywhere. The outside world was a treacherous landscape of slipperiness. Just great.

"Oh yay. Outside," she grumbled, her displeasure at the idea clear in her voice. Gingerly, she placed a foot out of the door, the ground sliding under her. She wasn't going to like this one bit. Placing another foot out the door, she found less slippery ground and so she began to advance cautiously out into the icy terrain. 

After a chime, she called back to Kovac, "I don't think this is too bad, it's just a bit-" A shriek cut off her words as the world slipped beneath her, her feet going out from under her as they failed to find something to grip.

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[Kovac]

Kovac spied the smile Azira donned after she realized they shared a similar passion for their work. It was a breakthrough the mongrel had been striving for, to soften the sharp-tempered girl. He knew there was something more inside that petite little redhead somewhere. But the beauty of her brief smile was once again swept aside by her unhappy scowl as she rose from her seat to cross to the door, cracking it open to peek out. The concept of going outside was obviously not a pleasant one to the teen hunter.

Kovac grapped his katinu as Azira slipped out the door. He stood in the doorway as the huntress trekked out upon the ice. In fact, ice covered everything. The ground, trees, buildings, anything left out in the storm had a good solid coating of ice. Azira was just beginning to comment on how bad it was not when the ground beneath her proved her wrong.

Her feet defied her, slipping nilly willy on the wet, icy ground. Kovac could see, almost in slow motion, Azira's balance failing. He darted out of the door, his own feet moving desperately with little traction. The hunter managed to get to Azira just in time, as she careened forward, crashing into him. They both dropped to the ground, Kovac landing with a sound thud and a loud "Ooof", Azira laying on top of him.

[Azira]

   

As the ground came up to meet her, she crashed into Kovac. The hunter had come out of nowhere, probably to try to save her, and she'd just slammed into him. They both fell to the ground, Azira landing heavily on top of him, winded by the force of the impact. 

Gasping for breath, she finally realised what position she was in. She was lying on top of Kovac, her legs splayed open awkwardly and her face only inches beside his own. The huntress felt her cheeks begin to warm, knowing that her face was going to go scarlet with embarrassment. Hastily, the girl tried to roll off of him but found that her left foot was trapped under his leg and she was still breathless in any case.

"Sorry. I fell on you," she mumbled, knowing that she was stating the obvious. In her mind though she was worried that he wouldn't think her ending up on top of him like that was an accident. From his point of view it would certainly seem as if she was coming on to him, very strongly in fact.

"Could you...um...move your leg so I...c-can get off of you?" she stuttered, closing her eyes so that she wouldn't have to see his expression. It was far to awkward for her, this sitting astride him and she could see so many ways that this could end badly.

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[Kovac]

The impact with the frozen ground was painfully jarring, the additional weight of the small woman adding to the slamming crash. Kovac let out a moan, afraid for a moment to move. Azira had landed on him soundly, the press of her body warm against him, the heat of her breath exhaled on his cold cheek. It was an awkward situation, though to anyone who had not seen their hapless fall, one would thing they were randy lovers, with the redhead straddling the dark haired half-vanthan.

Azira squirmed on top of him, her embarrassment tangible in her urgency to climb off of Kovac. He had to laugh, more of an amused sputter that caused pain in his back. "Yeah, I kind of figured you fell. I don't suppose there is a chance you just did it because you couldn't resist me." Though he joked, there was not a lot of humor in his strained voice. The mongrel Avora untangled his leg from the woman's. "For gods' sakes, be careful standing up." Once the girl started to move, Kovac shifted tentatively. Other than some aches, he seemed to still be in one piece.

To say Kovac did not secretly enjoy the short chime beneath the huntress would have been a lie. But he had teased her enough, and to taunt her any more about the intimate moment would surely garner that sharp fury Azira had displayed towards him earlier.

[Azira]

   

The hunter was spluttering with laughter beneath her and the huntress knew how red her face must be right now. This was probably the worst thing that could have happened to her today. Well, at least on top of everything else.

Kovac was more amused by the situation than she would have liked. Feeling annoyed with him, she punched him hard in the shoulder before disentangling herself from the awkward position. She glared at him briefly before struggling to her feet, rolling her eyes at his warning.

It was hard to stand up, the ground sliding beneath her feet as she tried to rise. She managed to find a bit of ground that had some traction and used that to get up. Once standing she stretched and was somewhat glad that Kovac had cushioned her fall. No aches and bruises for her that was for certain. She looked down on the hunter, still feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Sorry that must have hurt," she apologised, extending a hand to him. "Do you want a hand up? The ground I'm on is firm enough so I could probably pull you up," she explained.

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[Kovac]

Azira was clearly uncomfortable, speaking awkwardly and struggling to lift herself from her sprawled position atop Kovac. He was sure his thinly viewed amusement with the situation fanned that fiery temper the mongrel had seen earlier. But Azira kept her cool, if not with the most grace. She managed to get to her feet, not without some slipping gyrations, which seemed to make Kovac want to laugh more. He bit his lip as she apologized stiffly and offered a hand up, as if she had not just been laying on top of him like a languishing lover.

The humor faded quickly as Kovac tried to get up, aches sprung up along his back and hips, and he groaned softly as he slowly got to his hands and knees. He looked up at her small but strong hand, pondering whether to take it and risk pulling them both down again. In the end, he decided he could use the help, and he wrapped his calloused hand around hers. Starting with setting one foot, he planted it and started to lift himself, holding onto Azira, then the other foot found sound ground, and he stood up tentatively.

"Thanks." He spoke, the smile again creasing his face. "That was a bit...not unpleasant. Good thing it was not the other way around, you could have broken something if I landed on you." Kovac stood stick still, unwilling to move, or even release Azira's hand. "Alright, so...where to go... and how?" He posed as he looked at the glistening ice coating everything. The clouds had gathered again ,angry and gray. Soon, they would again release their frozen bounty.

[Azira]

   

Kovac was finding this far too entertaining. She could see him trying not to laugh at her the whole time she was trying to get to her feet. His eyes gave him away, alive with the laughter that he was being careful not to voice. The teen wondered if he was keeping quiet for her same or for his. He might fear he'd embarrass her or he might be worried that he'd make her temper flare once more. Regardless as far as Azira was concerned he shouldn't find it funny; she certainly didn't.

The hunter became far more serious when he had to get up. It was clear that he'd taken quite the knock when they'd landed and he was only just now starting to feel the effects of the fall. He seemed to consider her outstretched hand for a moment before he took it, using it to support him as he shifted around. The huntress braced her legs as she worked to heave the man up. Gods was he heavy! She found herself panting with exertion as she got the man back to his feet.

His comment about it not being unpleasant made her narrow her eyes but she said nothing, instead focusing on the second half of the comment. It was true if their positions had been reversed, the man would have had to scrape her off the ground. A thought occurred to her then and she laughed for a moment, wondering if she should voice it just for the sake of mischief.

"It just goes to show that men aren't supposed to be on top," she laughed, attempting to pull her hand from the hunter's grip. The laughter died as she frowned at their joined hands. His grip was stronger than she'd first anticipated. "First of all, you let go of my hand and second, we walk but we won't move too fast. Paying attention is also a good idea," she replied in answer to the man's question, beginning to squirm her hand out of the other Avora's grasp.

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[Kovac]

Once he was on semi-steady footing, with the help of Azira, Kovac saw how his teasing was received. Large golden eyes narrowed again at him, and the snarky hunter's grin lifted just a tad. He was finding a twisted entertainment in eliciting such unamused expressions from the girl, so serious all the time. But this time, Azira threw him for a loop, tossing back a lewd barbed joke that made even herself laugh. Kovac laughed with her, eyes widening in surprised at the huntress' sudden jocularity. But the moment of mirth was short lived, as the crimson bow of her lips curled into a frown, her hand fidgeting to be released from Kovac's grip.

Azira's suggestions were more like firm instruction, and with a shrug, Kovac let her small, calloused hand slip from his. There were pros and cons to holding onto each other while trying to make it back to the shed. They could help each other if one started to slip. But it was also as likely that one would start to fall and drag the other down with them. Kovac was pretty sure he would not derive any pleasure from having the petite girl knock him down and topple on top of him again.

The ice rain began again, a few drops at first as the wind kicked up and threatened to push them off balance on the slick ground. Looking around, Kovac could see a few faces pressed against the windows of other small buildings that weren't coated in ice. Apparently, after seeing the two hunters fall on top of each other, they decided not to venture out. Kovac was pretty certain there would be jokes already being prepared about Kovac and Azira 'shacking up' together and rolling around on each other in the street. Hopefully, Kovac could beat those jokes back to Wind Reach to explain to Lavira what really happened.

The Avoras inched towards their shed as the storm opened up again, and by the time they got back through the door, they were wet and cold again. Kovac found some more wood for the brazier, blowing onto the embers to bring the fire back to life. He shed his Katinu again and spread it out over the stored supplies.

"Well, that was fun." Fun was certainly far from that little shed. Azira was irritable, still shaken by her defeat by a Yasi, and when it came to Kovac seemed to swing from hate to apathy to begrudging respect and back around again. As the storm raged outside, the trapped hunters faced the fact that they may have to share the cramped quarters for the night. Kovac set again to befriend the snappy huntress, eventually, they may have to get very close to keep warm.

[Azira]

   

The hunter laughed at her comment, apparently appreciating her rare attempt at humour. Humorous comments from the young woman were unusual so she was almost surprised that the man had provoked such a comment. It was a rarity and it was strange that she'd said something like that to someone that she wasn't comfortable with.

She was glad when he released her hand, relief flooding through her as she was able to take a step away from him to put space between herself and Kovac. Deciding that heading back to the shed was probably the best idea, the girl began to take cautious steps towards the lean-to. The prospect of being stuck in that space with Kovac again was not a happy one but perhaps it wouldn't be as bad as she was anticipating.

Nobody else had ventured out into the icy landscape, either having more sense than the pair of Avora or they'd seen what had befallen them and decided against it. She was hoping for the former because the latter would just be embarrassing. If anyone had witnessed their fall then the huntress was certain that they'd get the wrong idea entirely. The idea of the pair of them being thought of as lovers frolicking on the ice was mortifying.

When she reached the shed, she was glad to return to a stable surface and all but ran into the safety of the building as the weather began to act up again outside. Resuming her former seat by the fire, she sat shivering beside it as Kovac added more wood to it. There fuel source would no doubt run out fairly soon and after that she didn't know what she'd do, or rather what they'd do. She had a feeling that sharing body heat would be the best plan but she didn't the hunter that well. She had a feeling this was going to be an awkward evening.

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