Completed [Bronze Forest] The Kill.

[Mara Fikes]

6th of Winter, 513 AV
Floyd's hooves were heavy as they pounded against the earth. With a loaded bow in one hand and the reins in the other she trusted Floyd to keep his eyes locked on the doe that sprinting forward, Trying to escape her pursuers. It was rather hard to keep her balance while the large stallion galloped on ward but finally she gave in, Tightly wrapping her legs around his large stomach, Feeling the beats of his hooves and the tan hair pricked her legs. Taking a deep breath she let go of the reins and pulled the thick string on her bow back and sent the arrow flying until it managed to strike the thick flesh of her prey. Almost drop her bow she leaned forward and grabbed Flyod's small mane and held on as though it was a life or death situation.

With a deep breath she slung the bow onto her back and then grasped Floyd's leather reins and slowly pulled back, Slowing him down as they neared the kill. She threw one leg over his large back and slid off, Almost taking the bed sheet with her. She patted Flyod's thick neck and he snorted lightly and stayed as he was. Falling to her knees she combed the brown hair out of her face and held the deer's flesh down as she yanked the bow out of it's thigh. The deer begun to smell of fresh blood and meat as she tied it's forked hooves together. Mara was rather strong but this deer took a lot to lift up.

As she did so she slung it onto Flyod's tan back, straining her muscles. Fixing the sheet she stationed the deer carefully to where she could hold onto her. Disgusted she placed the carcass right between her and back of Flyod's neck. Grabbing the reins she leaned them to the side and turned Flyod around. Kicking him lightly in the side he started to trot. It wouldn't take that long before they reached Syliras. Hopefully she wouldn't run into any monsters this time around.

Despite the easy day that started off as Mara going to check her snares and return quickly enough to cook what little raw meat she had left in her pantry, It turned into a chase for a small doe but that would be enough for Mara. Something to hold her over for the rest of the week, She could clean the doe and use the inedible variety of parts as possibly a scarf or a cloak if it was large enough. But Mara yet hadn't the skills to do so of course other than watching her father clean the kill but never interacting. A light smile crossed her face with the thought of her stomach being full and possibly selling parts if she couldn't find any use.

The taint smell of rain filled her nostrils as the smile on her face dissipated without hesitation. Stoping Flyod she thought of her options. Continue on and make it back in Syaliras or allow the raw meat to attract unwanted attention. This was no a life or death situation either way. Slowing Flyod down she stopped him under a tree, Trying to get her situation straight. Flyod was always used to carry heavy loads for a manageable amount of time and be quick. Mara leaned the left reins on the side of his damp neck and make a clicking noise as she kicked him harshly in the side. For Flyod that was nothing since she was so small compared to him, Aside from that he began to trot slowly and she gave him another kick and he picked up his feet. Now they were heading in the opposite direction, Away from Syaliras. For now she wished that she was ridding Uriel so she would be 2Xs faster. His ebony black hooves kicked up mud as they were forced to trudge through the damp ground. Managing to get only a few feet away from the snare traps she kicked him quickly and he did so, Almost losing his once-sure footing he threw his large cranium up and whirled around but Mara kept her cool, Grasping onto his short mane and with the other hand she held onto the doe and pulled the reins to her side hip forcing him to turn back in the direction of their snare. Now at a slow pace trot they made it to the trap. The creature ensnared was a rather large rabbit.

Slipping off of the horse she jogged over to the rabbit, Fell to her knees as the mud slowly surrounded her once clean pants. The snare was rather cleverly made but it was basic enough for her. Pulling out a clean dagger she quickly cut at the wire, It would waste it but she was in a rush and the rabbit was more to her than the wire. Finally she cut it lose and held onto it as she leaped onto Flyod's back, He gave a sharp jerk and turned back to Syaliras. Mara would have to survive another week of not putting any money into her pockets since the deer would be good for the inedible parts and so would that rabbit but she had to think about her eating that much and feeding his endless stomach.

[Sei Tendo]

Sei walked aimlessly through the woods, carefully studying his surroundings. Their were hoofprints in the snow, and if he was right they belonged to a horse. He trudged forward, and stayed in the tracks that had already been made. He walked for awhile before he caught a glimpse of something. As he got closer he saw someone was riding a horse, but he couldn't quite see enough to tell the riders gender. He stopped and called to the person, hoping that they would hear him.

"Hey! Can you hear me?!"

[Mara Fikes]

Mara always had an eerie love for winter, There was something about the coldness and the stinging of the snowflakes on her skin that gave her the push she needed to get though the day. Flyod's large ears short forward and he gave a slight snort and rotated one of his ears back to face a voice Mara soon turned to see, A figure she was unable to make out. There was a pang in her mind that instructed her to continue and leave the voice be. Of course there was her mother's voice ringing in her head, telling her to speak up.

With a sigh Mara turned in the curve of Flyod's back and pulled the reins to her right hip and he slowly shuffled around, Now they were going in the direction of the voice. Kicking Flyod softly and he trotted lightly despite the heavy load he carried on his back. With one hand she held the large rabbit and in the other were the rough leather reins. Despite the putrid smell of dead deer blood smothering over the natural smell snow she took in a deep breath,
" Stop where you are! "

Mara refused to get comfortable with the situation and wanted to survey to whom she was speaking towards. Over time Flyod's large hooves crunching in the snow eased to a full stop. Now the figure was no longer a blob of color but a man, He would have been much taller than her if she hadn't been on a rather large horse and her posture was straight and sturdy, Like a good rider should have. With silence her light green eyes followed his face, slightly she glared but other than that her face was emotionless. The cold winds were nothing to her, With a small scarf wrapped around her neck and pulled slightly over her mouth, Hiding most of her recognizable features. Other than that her pants were doused in the animal blood splatter and her hair was pulled all to one side of her face as it stuck to the tan skin on her cheeks and a long bow fashioned on her back lightly.

[Sei Tendo]

Sei stopped in his tracks, but soon continued to trudge closer to the person despite the thick snow falling around them. He got a better look at the person now that he was closer, and she was covered with splattered blood. On the other side he could faintly make out a small kill in her other hand. He chuckled a bit and took a step back.

"No need to be cautious of me, I mean you no harm after all." He said, a playful smile on his face. He patted the horse on it's side, and moved back a few steps, remembering the Quiver on his back, and the longbow in his hand. He had worn his leather armor, and had covered it with a fur cloak. His leather boots were covered by the snow, but it didn't matter much.

"Are you just out hunting?" He asked.

[Mara Fikes]

The pale snowflakes began to gather on her shoulders sending a chilling shiver through her bones. Despite the man's trying to ease the tension with light laughter she refused to get comfortable. Listening to his words she remained silent with a bland facial expression and unreadable eyes.

As he patted the horse next to him Flyod quickly turned his large skull and perked his ears up as though he wanted to become antiquated with the horse but Mara denied it by placing a hand on his thick neck and he instinctively turned from the horse but one ear was rotated to be directed to the other horse.

In answer to his question she said stiffly, "Yes. I was hunting. Is there something you need." Mara didn't mean for that to be directed as mean but it was just one of the times where it slips out. Managing to keep her reply simple and not to detailed she shifted lightly in the dirty blanket of a saddle.

[Medhozic]

Just keep moving. That was all he thought, really. The cold had long since driven through the thin shirt that he wore, and to keep warm, he'd decided that he'd just begin somewhere and move towards getting to somewhere else. There really wasn't time to think beyond that, he just needed to get warm again.. and moving would be the perfect way. Running would scare off all the animals before he'd get there, and that would just be useless.. so, he stalked. Stealth was important after all. Crouched down low, absently pushing the few branches low enough to obscure his path, he took care to avoid anything on the ground that he knew would make a sound.. and regardless of that, he still often managed to step on a dried leaf or a covered twig that would break the silence as he carefully slid through the forest floor, bow drawn and held out in front of him at a horizontal, and an arrow in his free hand.. although he didn't notch it yet. There wouldn't be much point, given that he hadn't found the animal yet.. and there wasn't any point in putting away the use of both hands just yet either. He could always return it to his quiver should he need to. The Kopis still swung from the side of his hip, absently chiming every now and then, though he tried not to make it annoy him too much.. the whole thing was going to ruin his shoddy attempts, but there wasn't much he could do. He needed it available. The leather quiver over his back was still stacked with its small assortion of arrows, twenty since he made sure to collect each one after its use and replace it back in its original place.. he wasn't just going to waste them all at once, was he. That clanged about too, with the metal tips all slamming into each-other and making a racket that would have woken a bear from hibernation. Of course, it was around ten chimes after he'd begun the careful walk that he heard noises, more like voices in the end.. and so, he did what anyone else would do in such a situation. He approached cautiously, eyes narrowed as he peeks from between the branches at.. others. Others scaring off the wildlife, the reason that he hadn't found anything these past few chimes. Usually there'd be something - today though, there were people around disturbing his hunting with their loud noise and their utter misunderstanding of the concept of catching game. He did what anyone else would do in the situation - he set to kill them. The bow was lifted from behind the shadows of the tree, the arrow notched, brought up and aimed.. but at the last second, something drew him to change his mind. He could always kill them later. So instead, he turned his attention and shot the arrow through the dense trees to slam into the bark of another some distance from the two, with a resounding 'THWACK'. That should send them off.

[Sei Tendo]

Sei was just about to respond when he heard something whistle through the air. All of a sudden there was a loud thwack. He turned slightly to see that there was an arrow in the tree beside them. What the Petch?! He whipped around from the direction of the arrow had come, but even his eyes couldn't identify the culprit. He turned to the woman and back to the direction of the arrow. He lifted his bow, and kept his eyes peeled while drawing back the bowstring with an arrow.

"You might want to dismount. Your an easy target up there." He said, not turning around.

[Mara Fikes]

Floyd's large ears perked up and she turned her head toward the sound. It was no monster. It was human. She knew that sound well. The sound of an arrow hitting its mark, Mostly it happen to whenever she didn't hit her prey so it was quiet common. Doing as instructed she got off her horse and slowly grabbed her long bow from her back. This time she took out a steel arrow, this one was different. Meant for penetrating thick furs and cloths.

Now without hesitation she loaded it, Keeping it low so all she had to do was pull the string and let go of the thick thread. Taking in a deep breath and letting a light one out she pulled the scarf back over her mouth. Mara's light green eyes showed a glare as she scanned through the tree line. Keeping it slow she she may be able to concentrate if she saw movement. The shadows illuminated against the thick white snow and it was hard to tell.

But she was not going to wait around much longer. If there was any attack she wouldn't hesitate to shoot nor the chance to run.

Everything she wore masked her appearance, Her light copper skin and her sharp and defined face. Mara's eyes were those of a rather skilled hunter but it needed improvement. Listening. Waiting for the sound of crunching snow then she would strike.

[Medhozic]

Damn and blast. With his intentions ruined and two opponents, he was clearly outmatched in this scenario - the one that he hadn't expected by far. He couldn't just leave the place.. but at the same time, he couldn't just walk out, or they'd obviously shoot him. He needed to make something else.. something that would make them see him as more than just one man, with hardly any knowledge of how to string a bow, let alone take down two people at once before being struck himself. So, he did what any rational person would do. He crept from the shadows and straight behind the tree nearest, keeping it between them while he picked up a stone and threw it nearby. If he could make different sounds from different areas.. well, then he might be able to divert them into believing that there were different people making the sound. That, or he'd just end up making a fool of himself by showing them where he was so that they could both surround him and kill him. Clad as he was, in nothing but his soft shirt and breeches, he would do well for sneaking.. but absolutely rubbish for hiding himself in camouflage, or protection against arrows or any close-range weapons. He could run - not fast, but he could at least run without anything obscuring him like giant metal plates. Except one of them had a horse.. a damn horse, that he'd never be able to outrun even if he did want to flee. Damn and petch it all, why couldn't he just have acted nice. Well, he never had before and he probably wouldn't yet... besides, they could have killed him if he just ventured out into the wild and calmly met a few strangers who were both armed with bows and arrows. They could have shot him through the neck and stole his equipment, and then he would have ended up dead rather than with a slim chance of survival, like he did now. "Lower your weapons and you will not be harmed." Another stone picked up and thrown, this time a further distance.. though this one bounced off a tree and landed a little further than he had hoped. Which was good anyway.. he could do his, he could stop them from at least killing him.. at the very most, seriously injuring him. Maybe he could act intimidating enough for them to not consider just shooting him when he eventually did come out of his secluded shelter...

[Sei Tendo]

Sei laughed to himself, then aloud. He heard the rock but didn't change his direction in the slightest. It was hilarious to him that there was someone trying to intimidate him. Now his laughing was louder, and then he ceased all at once. He surveyed the area carefully, and looked over at the girl who'd drawn a longbow of her own. Now he smirked. Never thought I'd be in a fight with a girl by my side. Hope she's up for it.

"If you think I'm dropping my weapon your insane. I can tell there is only a few of you." He announced, hoping that their attackers would hear him. He took another glance at the girl, and then in front of him. "Why don't you come out so we can talk? I won't shoot, I promise." He said, taking a step forward. Hopefully he could lure some of them out.