Flashback Auburn [Synntina]

[Viridae Kabre]

Viridae smiled as she told her story. Rabbit. First thing he had ever killed was an injured bear, but that couldn't really be considered a hunt, no. Trapping first, then shooting, then he was left to hunt on his own. But his family was one of hunters, a web with a reputation for the dangerous. Not all chased the game of his web and at times he wished he had been brought into a different profession like his sister. Left with a choice.

"The cutest are the hardest to claim, I agree," He said with a warm smirk.

After she asked about the woman, his mind began to wander, and for a moment his face grew blank. Only when he realized he hadn't provided her with a proper answer did he sigh and roll onto his stomache, dangling his arms from the branch. He locked eyes with Synntina.

"You may think me ill. I'm not sure to this day if all that happened was real, but it feels that way. And It pulls at me sometimes. No, I never saw her again. But I feel like she's always near. Watching. Its odd."

He trailed off again and looked to the ground for a moment before continueing.

"Last winter was hard for me. Not long before, My father and brother set off for Falydar to hunt, and I assume my brother is participating in the harvest as well, though he has yet to choose a wife. Anyway, I was tracking a wolf I had spotted whilst searching the valley for fox. Beautiful wolf, Jet black, golden eyes, and lone. Perfect for a lone hunter. I spent a good two hours on her trail before a storm swept in from the east, making it terrible to see. Once the storm had cleared, there she was, standing in the center of this field of snow. Unfortunately, I was also in this field, and it turned out not to be a field at all, but a lake."

He paused another few ticks, staring at his claws, avoiding Synntina's eyes.

"Well, the ice was thin and it gave beneath me. I thought I was going to die. I closed my eyes to accept my fate and next thing I know, I'm in the tree line near a fire. Clothes laid out to dry, wrapped up in a blanket. Well, my tent. Wrapped in my tent. There was this woman there, and she was singing. Not normal singing though, some tounge I'd never heard. Like how some of the traders speak. Anyway, I fell back asleep and when I awoke she was gone."

He touched a claw to his lips for a moment remembering the kiss. That part was just for him. Strange, not a feeling of love or giddyness, but one of protection. He'd never been right since.

[Synntina Novul]

The woman watched him turn over and lock eyes with her. It was then she really noticed the bright violet his eyes were. They held the mind of someone rather smart, but at the same time reserved. Synntina found it hard to look away from him, but after a few moments she looked down from his eyes, as if they had hurt her in some way. She frowned for a moment before listening to his story.

As he spoke, she felt almost silly to have asked him about the woman. She felt now as if she was intruding on his personal life. He was telling her something that she felt was probably very personal to him, but she had nothing in return to share. She turned her intense, yellow eyes back toward him, finding now he was staring down at the long ebony claws they both shared as a Symenestra.

He spoke about the near death experience and she gave a soft wince. She had felt the icy touch of a frozen lakes water and could not imagine being enveloped in it like he had briefly described. Just a touch with her finger and she had felt the ice crystals form onto her skin. She gave a soft shiver.

As he finished the story she nodded slowly, looking off into the distance in front of her. She turned her body toward him, letting her legs which were resting on the branch to dangle over the sides. Her claws dug in only slightly into the bark underneath her to keep balance.

"I've never heard of a story quiet like that. You are very lucky that the woman was just that, and not just a wolf as you thought."

"Thank you for sharing that with me."

The woman offered him a small smile, seeing now that his expression was changed from before. She hoped she had not brought his spirits down with asking about the woman.

[Viridae Kabre]

Viridae turned his head to the side to examine her eyes again, deep and gold, before realizing his story may have made her feel uneasy. After all, it was rather sad. He was only thankful she hadn't called him a lunatic or something along the lines.

"Its of no trouble, Sibea," He said offering a small smile, desite his previous expression of being lost. He decided it was about time for a change of subject.

"So you come from a family of hunters? Maybe our parents were friends some time ago?" Viridae shifted on the branch so he was laying down, facing her in full. Female hunters were in short supply nowadays, but it was nice to speak with someone near his age that was born into the trade as he was.

[Synntina Novul]

She followed his movements so he was laying toward her, she leaned her shoulder into the tree again and listened to his question about her family. She thought for a moment, bringing up one of her hands and running her fingers and claws through her long, silvery hair. She spoke, her voice as neutral sounding as ever,

"My father was a hunter and a store owner. But he mostly left the store to my mother to run. He taught me everything I know how to do now, despite some things I picked up on my own. As for family past my father, I'm not sure. I never knew them, and my parents didn't speak of their parents much. As for my mother, shes a dancer. She never approved of my fathers want to teach me hunting, so I know both."

She said, thinking back to when her parents would argue over how Synntina should be raised. Her mother wanted her to become a dancer, like herself. And her father wanted her to be able to choose what she wanted, but that teaching her hunting would be a valuable, money earning skill. She frowned for a moment and reached a hand up to rub her shoulder a small bit.

"After my father died my mother left, remarrying not long after. I don't talk to her much, every once and awhile she visits me if I'm at home. But shes not much of a mother any more."

Synntina gave a soft sigh, thinking to herself on how her mother was never much of a mother at all. She always had critisim for her, and never much praise. She was never sure why her mother stayed with her father. It always seemed like she was unhappy. But then there were times, when they would all sit around in their house. Her mother would have her sit, and would brush her silvery hair while her father told stories. His exaggerated ones were the best, they would make her mother laugh and laugh. She missed that noise, she realized. The house now was so quiet and lonely.

[Viridae Kabre]

Viridae listened to Synntina's explination of her upbringging, and watched her gracefull movements. Sometimes, Viridae had wished he would have had both parents growing up, seeing as though he did not know his mother very well, but recently he had come to realize that he would not be where or who he was today if not for his father's sole influence on his life. He knew little of his mother, other than she was a weaver, and never really questioned the past. Dwelling had little effect on his future.

But still, he had family. It would seem this girl was alone in the world, thrust into adulthood with no support. How un fair.

"It must be hard," He stated, meeting her eyes once more. "Being alone, I mean. My parents may be gone now, but I still have my sister and aunt. But you..."

He let his mind drift for a moment along the subtle breeze of fall. Thoughts of loneliness and solitude, still peace, and calm hunts passing through him like water over silk. He shook them away lightly.

"I'm sorry." He said, looking away after realizing that he had been staring at her for quite some time. "It doesn't have to be that way you know."

[Synntina Novul]

Synntina listened to him, meeting his eyes at the same time. She made no motion to agree or disagree with his comment on it being hard, but she did turn her eyes away to look back out at the forest. A gentle breeze whisked around the trees, rustling their branches and singing the song of the forest. Her attention was brought back to Viridae when he apologized, and for a moment was confused. Not realizing he had been staring at her. He mentioned that she didn't have to be alone and she gave a small huff.

"And what do you suggest I do about it?"

She asked with a small tilt to her head. She didn't say it in a rude way, always with her hollow, composed voice. Her yellow eyes always looked fierce however, and she stared at Viridae, waiting for his answer. She thought about it to herself, an asnwer to the question at hand. Maybe she could get a pet, but it was hard for her to find comfort in an animal that couldn't hold its own in the world she lived in. A kelvic perhaps? She had heard about them, and how they lived to serve, so to speak, but she wasen't sure she would have heart enough to do that. Even if they were genetically designed for it. Or however their history was. She had read about them briefly in a book, she wasen't even sure it was a creditable resource.

[Viridae Kabre]

Viridae flushed for a moment under the weight of her gaze, before reaching out and stroking the bracelett he made her lightly with the back of his claw. The Symenestra rarely invaded the space of another in this fashion, and once he realized what he was doing, withdrew his hand quickly. If his pale cheeks had the capacaty to blush, he would be pale pink.

He smilied lightly to cover his own embarrassment, and bit his bottom lip a little with a protruding fagng.

"Friendship," He replied hastily. "You won't be alone with me as a friend. I promise."

Viridae turned away then, refocusing his attention on the sky above. It would set within a few bells. They needed to move the bear.

"Have you decided what you want to do about the beast?"

[Synntina Novul]

Synntina's eyes followed Viridaes hand to her wrist. She frowned, wondering what he was doing. But he seemed to only be touching the braclet he had made. She looked over at him again when he withdrew his hand quickly, as if he didn't realize what he was doing. She listened to him and when he turned away, she smiled. An actual smile, not one of the small smirks she often gave people for encouragement. A genuine, fanged smile. After a few moments it faded though, and she stayed quiet as he was looking up to the sky.

She had not realized how much time had passed since they had left the city. When they started the hunt it was still in the morning, and now it was a few hours before nightfall. She didn't imagine they would be back before the sky fell to darkness. She looked down at where the bear was being kept and then she looked over at Viridae and shrugged softly.

"Whatever you think would be best. I'm fine with either option."

She said, moving away from the tree and reaching over to grab her bow, positioning it nicely on her back again.

[Viridae Kabre]

He nodded and rolled from the tree, landing on the ground with a gentle thud on his bare feet. The Symenestra pulled a knife with a a curved nitch on its dullened side and approached the bear before giving it a carefull assesment and thinking about what would be worth taking. Skin, definately. Ribs. Flanks. Prime cuts of back meat. Skull. Teeth.

"Well skin it then," He said lightly as he rounded the beast and struggled to push it onto its side. After a series of quiet grunts and much effort, he got it there, before kicking it onto its stomache and making a small inscision near the beast's collar bone. Afterwards he placed the nitch in the incsision and pulled it down the beast's body to its stub of tail.

Pulling the hide from the skin was a long and grueling process, but he was prepared for what was to come. He just wasn't sure Synntina was.

"Are you comfortable with skinning?" He asked as he slipped his hands between the hide and thin layer of transparent flesh. "It definately isn't pretty."

[Synntina Novul]

The girl watched him move from the tree in a rather odd fashion, hitting the ground and moving over toward the bear. She shifted around for a moment, dropping from her branch and landing in a crouched stance before straightening herself up. She walked over to where Viridae was standing over the bear. She nodded at his decision, taking a step back to watch him. After a few moments he spoke again and she frowned, looking down at the bear.

"I have seen it done. But I have never done it. I don't think I could be much help now unless you told me what to do."

She said, and in the back of her mind thinking she didn't want to be much help in this kind of situation, but she also didn't want to leave it all up to Viridae. Synntina turned her head to look out behind them back toward the river, it seemed that most of the bears had moved on by now, although she could still see the shape of one still fishing in the river.