[Outside Endrykas] Cautious Hunters (Koray)

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

2nd Fall, 510 A.V. After ten years of exile, only the last couple self-imposed, Sam was not willing to stray too far from the tent city of Endrykas, but being as independent as he was, he did not want to rely on the charity of distant relations who only accepted him because their Ankal could see his connection to the Web. Though they shared a bit of blood and were tied into the same magical latticework, most of his life had been spent away from the horseclans and he was noticeably reticent around them. So it was that he hunted, taking Horse and the short bow he had bought in Syliras and attempting to bring down some game. He might have laid down some traps, but he wanted to be more mobile and not have things to go back after should a greater predator than him decide that he was likely prey. Such predators were many. From summer to autumn, they had followed the coast of the Suvan Sea south and west, and while he had met with Endrykas while it was nearest to Syliras, now it was closer to Riverfall. Already he had been caught up in the seasonal cycle of his people, bringing him slowly back into the fold in fact as well as in location. He thought about these things as he attempted to follow game trails, now used to the woodland trapping and hunting of the Sylira region. Luckily for him, game was abundant this time of year and as they had just recently moved, the game was not entirely used to them yet. However, there were also the Zith slavers to be aware of, even more vicious than the humans who had enslaved him as a young, young man-child. Sam was just about to give up and go gather the wild fruits and nuts that this region was famous for when he sighted a deer. A swift squeeze of his knees brought Horse to stillness, and he nocked an arrow, sighted the old doe, and loosed an arrow toward her, to pierce her shoulder. He immediately nocked another arrow and sent it following the first before she got too far off, the injury to her shoulder making her an easier target than she would have been otherwise. It took two more arrows to take her down. The third missing her entirely, and the last taking her in the throat. After riding close, he dismounted and approached warily with his hunting knife. Though she had no antlers, those hooves could still do fair damage to one such as him. He got in quickly as Jaeden had taught him, reinforcing old, half-forgotten lessons, and slit her throat. That done, his challenge was to get her loaded onto Horse. He didn't want to get stuck minding the deer when a hungry predator happened by. It were best to do it closer to the safety of Endrykas. "Horse," he called in Pavi. He only spoke in Pavi anymore, which was strange and wonderful. "Down." The big windrunner knelt down, well-trained and knowing the drill, though Sam always felt like he took umbrage at being loaded with a weight of blood-smelling game. Now there was still the matter of slinging the large animal across his back. "Shyke." Apparently he still knew a word or two in Common, anyway. This was going to suck.

[Koray Windcall]

Summer had been a rather quiet and uneventful stretch, at least when it had come to getting any proper hunting done: there had been much going on around his pavilion in preparation of the Great Race, then in the moving south, enough to keep him busy and occupied but somewhat out of his element. So used had he gotten to the hush of the plains when out, the clan’s good-natured shouting, joking and general organized chaos had come almost as a surprise, albeit not an altogether unpleasant one. It would have been a lie to say the company had been unwelcome, and Koray had never been much for untruths.

Still, when given the chance to venture out again on his own, he had jumped on it, and so he found himself riding out in the woodlands surrounding the encampments that made up Endrykas proper, eyes scanning out the surroundings. He wasn’t really hoping for a kill this time, but it was good to be out and familiarizing himself with the local trails, maybe locate some likely places to lay traps or wait for animals where they often passed. Predators... he trusted in Sanem’s fleet-footedness and her fine senses to detect and evade the predators that couldn’t be taken care of with a well-aimed arrow or a pass or two with his spear. As long as there were no glassbeaks, of course, but those were a danger on open land as well in forests, and at least here they might be slowed down by the underbrush as much as striders would be.

Louder sounds than the usual had his hands dropping for the shortbow and his quiver, eyes narrowed in the direction they'd come from, before the sound of an arrow in flight and a body dropping registered and he relaxed, still careful but less wary.

He knew was not the only one to be out, of course, and he’d seen far better hunters than he riding off earlier, green and red threaded through their hair and clothes, but still it was almost a surprise to catch sight of another man when he’d just gotten back into the quiet isolation that came with the plains. Sanem’s ear pricked up as she looked at him and his strider, and Koray steered her just a bit closer with a few gentle touches, then prompted her to stop a little distance away, making just enough noise that it wouldn’t take the other completely by surprise and eyeing the situation with a smile, due more to appreciation for a nice catch than to the problem his fellow hunter seemed to be facing.

“Need a hand there?”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam looked up quickly. It was another Drykas, of course, so he immediately relaxed, at least marginally. This one wouldn't let a glassbeak sneak up on him without loosing an arrow or two and a warning to fight or flee. It was a little embarrassing to be caught in such a bind when he was trying to prove to the horseclans and to himself that he as a Drykas, but there was little to be done for it now. "Ho, stranger," he greeted. "A little help getting her strapped onto my horse wouldn't go amiss. This what I get for going hunting alone." He smiled ruefully, though truth be told, he didn't look like much of a Drykas. Any of the blue that would have marked him as a Sapphire clansman was long gone, and he was still poor, dressed in the hodgepodge of clothes he had accumulated over the years. His new Strider remained at his meager camp. His windmark was covered by a leather wrist cuff. At least he spoke fluent Pavi. "I was going to skin it and all when I got closer to home. I didn't want anything sneaking up on me that smelled the blood. Unless you want to keep a look out while I take care of the carcass." He offered options since the other man was offering help. He was older, obviously a hunter with his greens and the way he looked so confident. Sam hoped that he too would grow into such a man soon.

[Koray Windcall]

Not all windmarks were visible at first glance--Koray's own only barely showed under the collar of his tunic--, and that the man spoke Pavi went a long way in assuaging suspicions. That he hadn't tripped the Web so close to Endrykas, where it ran thickest, was further sign that he either belonged here, or at least had been granted passage by those who watched for any intruders. Not always fool-proof, but good enough.

"Wouldn't want to risk attracting a whole pack of scavengers. Bringing it back sounds best." He nodded, eyeing the doe. A lone predator, maybe two, could ideally be scared off or killed before they could do any harm or steal the kill, but a group of them would simply be too much, too dangerous, and it'd be a shame to lose the catch.

Sanem snorted, tossing her head, and he ran a hand over her neck soothingly as he dismounted. "Easy, my sweet." Always high-strung, she'd been, but gentle enough when needed, which was all he asked of her.

He guided his mare a little closer, loathe to be far from her in case a swift retreat somehow would be required, before strolling over to the younger man's side, pushing away the low branches from his way. Strange, to be in the woodlands, after the more open plains.

"Hunting alone has its advantages, I have always found." He smiled back. "Though it does present some difficulties, yes. But it's a moot point right now, isn't it?" He was here, and he could help--enough for now. "Let's get her on your horse." He was only waiting for the go-ahead to help hoist the kill up.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"I was lucky enough to find the doe; I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. On three? One, two, three." With the other's help, he managed to get the carcass over Horse's back and quickly lashed it securely so Horse could run if need be and not lose his catch. Of course, all that weight would tire him out rather quickly if he had to run, but the hope was they could walk all the way back to Endrykas. If worse came to worst, Sam had his bow and his scimitar. When he stood, he put his hand out to make ritual greeting. "I'm Sam," he said. Then, suddenly wanting another clansman to know he was Drykas rather than hiding it, he explained the rather un-Drykas name. "I was born Sama'el, and I hope to be him again soon. Sapphire Clan, though you wouldn't know it from looking." His grin was self-deprecating, rueful, and layered with nuances. Sam had had a tough life, but he wasn't going to complain about it, merely try to improve upon its design. "And this is Horse," he indicated the windrunner, who was nosing with interest toward Sanem. He was a bit of a slut. "We've been together a couple of years and I took him out today so he won't feel neglected now I have a Strider again."

[Cardinal]

Sama'el Skills Hunting 1 Shortbow 1 Riding 1 Lore Koray Skills Riding 1 Lore Notes: I liked where this was going. I wish it would have gotten finished, but alas...