Bumps in the Forest(Aella)

[Jaeden Kincade]

20th Day of Fall, 510 A.V.

Jaeden moved idly through the forest, Fortunado walking slowly behind him as the moved at a slow pace. Jaeden spent his time slowly chewing through a large strip of venison, cooked but cold. Leftovers from last night. He slowly reached up, plucking an apple from a nearby tree as he passed it before slowly reaching back, holding it out to Fortunado who snatched it up into his mouth and began chewing with subtle exhales. Bits of it dropped from the Nightwalker’s mouth and back into Jaeden’s hand as Fortunado finished it in bits, continuously recapturing the fallen bites from Jaeden’s palm. Jaeden’s gaze shifted for a moment at the sound of a small twig snapping. He gave a slow exhale, looking up to Fortunado for a moment as the horse gave a subtle gruff exhale, before finishing the last bits of apple in Jaeden’s palm.

Finally, Jaeden reached up, taking one final bit from the venison before leaving it lay along a flat stone for Red before finally moving forward again in silence. She had been following Jaeden ever since he decided to exile himself to the wilds shifting between the Cobalt Mountain forests and the Wildlands. Several times had told Red to return back to Syliras, that she was at risk just by being around him, and every day and night he would find hints of her still lingering around. A makeshift nest to lay on, tracks leading up to his camp after returning from a hunt, the soft strands of fox fur along his bedroll where she would simply lay in wait, fully familiarizing herself with his scent as much as possible so she could track him wherever he went. She had shown such tenacity in her need to remain close to Jaeden, the bond driving her as she watched over him, remained protective of him, even when he told her to go. Despite Jaeden’s new outlook to not let people get close anymore, he had given up on making her leave him, to go someplace else he thought would be safer in the long run for her. The bond had already been formed, partly due to Ranuri, and another small part of him that just didn’t want to break another Kelvic’s heard like he had with Helena, and especially as he had with Miharu.

In the end, however, he would not invite her to travel beside him. She would get all encouraging then, try to cheer him up and convince him to head back to Syliras. It was a place he did not want to go back to. There were too many people there who knew him, to many that could be hurt just because they knew him, and not because of some enemy that had a grudge against him, but simply because that seemed to be his fate. He had learned such when Olevar had been killed. It made him wonder, so very often over the past few weeks after burying him, if he would still be alive had he not found Jaeden nearly starved to teach when he was a child. Another “what if” in his life. All those closest to him, whom he had known as family, were dead. He could not suffer another loss like that, so he chose the life of a hermit, following the steps of Olevar himself as he began to live life in the wild, shunning social contact with others from here on out.

Jaeden eventually stopped, coming to a slow crouch along the ground as he began brushing aside a few idle leaves of a bright reddish color aside, the first fallen of the fall season, to reveal a small indentation in the ground. “Boar,” Jaeden commented to himself as he slowly looked up to the sky, noting how much time in the day he had left.

He gave a slow rub to his chin then, contemplating for a moment as he dabbed his fingers slightly into the track along the ground. “Well,” Jaeden said as he slowly stood up strait once again, “may as well find a clearing and make camp. Not like we have important things planned.”

Jaeden slipped his bow out of his pack, wedging the lower tip along his left foot as he grabbed the string. The muscle in his right arm them bulged as he bent the bow downward, stringing the bow fully before snatching it up in his left hand. He took a slow turn and slowly began making his way towards a clearing he had been familiar with in the woods close to a half mile away from where he currently was. It had good visibility in all directions, a nearby water source, and with the area slightly indented along the ground, left several opportunities to lay traps for outside influences who would disturb his place of rest for the night. First he had to set up his tent, though, and make a fire.

[Aella]

It was one of those days a person would pay good mizas to forget. And despite her habit of rarely imbibing in the drink, at the rate it was going, it was fated to turn into an evening that she’d fall asleep wishing for enough ale to make the task easier. The problem wasn’t the actual day, though. The day had been going well up until about an hour before… The problem was the boar. Aella had been moving about, minding her own business, with her thoughts on setting up camp a little early. Typically she wouldn’t have allowed herself to be so distracted, but the truth was that it had been a long day of not catching anything to eat. Her empty stomach wasn’t allowing her thoughts to remain clear. So, as fate would have it, a boar had come stumbling along her path. Startled, hungry, and rushed, her aim with her bow was perhaps lacking – Though she’d swear the arrow’s feathers had not been set properly. Instead of shooting a death-dealing strike, she rather expertly landed a square shot into the nasty creature’s posterior. In turn, the boar had charged instead of running away. This, unfortunately, resulted in her getting a tusk to the leg. She smacked the animal in between the eyes with her bow before running towards the nearest tree. Fortunately the tree had a few low-enough branches that even she could climb it, but it would take her a few weeks to add anything dealing with fortune to such a detail. Somewhere along the climb she lost her quiver, and her arrows were scattered across the ground. The boar had yet to give up in trying to get to her – Something about getting shot in the butt seeming to make almost any creature go into some sort of stubborn rage. And so, without even anything to throw at it, Aella found herself up a tree for a bell. Every once in a while she’d let out a little curse at her horse – Newly acquired (read: stolen), it seemed absolutely unconcerned that she was in this situation. He was content to spend his time eating while she was being forced to starve… Her planned meal hell-bent on taking her down The way she saw it, sooner or later, one of them was going to bleed to death. Ideally it wasn’t going to be her. So what was left to do was lie against the branch she was on, staring down at the clearly insane boar as he snapped one of her arrows under his hoof. She winced before yelling down at him, “Your new name is Porkchop!” Maybe she was starting to lose it.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden had been tracking the boar for close to a bell, having set up camp close to a mile away. Normally, he likely would have found the beast in close to half of the time, but these days, Jaeden had become unknowingly converted to simply taking his time. He wouldn’t be leaving the wilds anytime soon. Fact of the matter was, he didn’t see himself leaving the wilds at all anymore. There were too many people outside of them, too many interactions, too many that could die just by knowing him. It was something that seemed to haunt his thoughts heavily as of late.

So in the woods he remained, static and quiet, his focus simply on tracking the boar and getting food for the night. As well, fall had arrived, and he needed to start dehydrating some meats now and prepare his rations for the winter season. Jaeden soon rose from his crouched position stepping forward at a casual pace. It wasn’t far off. After about a walking close to a few chimes, Jaeden soon heard the rustled sound of hooves scraping along bark and a curse that sounded distinctly less, boar-like. A slow sigh had been exhaled, thinking that perhaps he had lost his chance at dinner. After a short distance later, Jaeden was greeted to the sight of something completely different, as a woman remained laying along the branch of a tree, high out of the boar’s reach as it scraped upward in a vein attempt to reach it’s aggressor. Jaeden spotted the arrow sticking out of the boar’s rump, blood trickling down from the wound. She had already wounded it, meaning that the animal was, in a way, rightfully hers for the taking. On the other hand, she was without a means to finish it off, her other arrows scattered along the ground, and a slow trail of blood running down the side of the tree. She was injured and trapped. Intervention on Jaeden’s part would mean that at least part of the pig would be his then.

Part of him wondered if it was worth it in the end. If he did intervene, that would most likely mean an interaction with the woman herself on some level, which he was trying to avoid these days. He could just leave, and simply wish her luck in her fate. The Wildlands, after all, wasn’t a place where one should get stuck in a tree, especially since Barkbears were now foraging for food to increase their fat content before hibernating. The drawback to simply leaving, however, was that he would have to find the tracks of other prey, and spend time hunting it down instead. With only three bells left until Syna made her decent for the day, Jaeden wasn’t sure if he wanted to spend that kind of time. While he wasn’t in a rush, he certainly wasn’t in the mood for hunting at night.

Another exhale escaped Jaeden’s lips then as he slowly dropped to his knee. Two arrows were pulled free from his quiver then as he nocked one of them into his bow, the second one being held idly between his middle and ring finger. He raised his bow, slowly drawing back the arrow as his index and middle finger hooked around the string. He kept pulling until the tension reached it’s maximum, and held it there as he began to steady his aim on the hog in the distance. His breathing slowed as his eyes narrowed, causing things around in his peripheral vision blurred and the boar came more into focus. One final exhale was released before his fingers released their grip along the string of the bow, sending all of it’s tension forward as it cut through the air at a rapid pace. Jaeden was already nocking his second arrow after his first release, knowing the angle he had, as well as the lack of his own skill in the bow, would find his first arrow not being enough.

The arrow hit, sinking into the shoulder muscle of the boar as it roared out in pain. It quickly reared around, searching for the source of it’s pain before it saw Jaeden in the distance, slipping his second arrow into his composite longbow. Twice shot and harmed, fury entered the beast as it began to charge at Jaeden now, finding an aggressor along the ground easier to gore than the one up in the tree. Despite the two arrows that were now sticking out of it, the boar’s speed didn’t decrease as it began closing the distance between itself and Jaeden quickly. Jaeden drew back the string again, leveling the tip of the arrow on the charging boar, he took less time with his aiming this time around as the arrow was released almost as soon as it had been drawn back. The result was a shallow pierce to the front of the boar’s chest, just inside it’s left leg. Such a shot did little to dissuade it from it’s charge, and only slowed it a step. “Stubborn one, aren’t we?” Jaeden muttered under his breath as he stood up, pulling his longsword free from it’s sheath.

Jaeden bent at the knees a little, holding his sword out in front of him as his toes curled slightly in his boots, waiting to spring. He waited though, waited for the boar to get closer, closer still. Then, as the boar was lowering it’s head to finally gore at Jaeden, Jaeden suddenly jumped to the side, twisting his body as he drove his sword between the boar’s ribs with a quick thrust. His arm tugged back slightly as momentum of the boar’s charge pulled at the blade in his hand before releasing it’s grip as a spurt of blood escaped through the open wound. The boar itself roared out once again and continued to run for a few yards before it finally collapsed to a rolling halt along the ground, taking in it’s last deep breaths as it clung to life. Jaeden rolled his right shoulder for a bit, working away a slight strain that came from his sword nearly being forcefully yanked from his grip as he looked to the boar itself. A casual glance was thrown over his shoulder as he checked on what the woman had been up to before he slowly began stepping towards the boar itself, looking to put it out of it’s misery.

[Aella]

Aella came down the tree madder than a wet hen, the bark scraping at her fingertips as she went. While her jaw was clenched both from the pain she was feeling and the wounding of her pride, she was doing her very best to keep her anger to herself. Rationally she knew she should have been grateful that someone had come along to help her. Now her palms were scraped on top of her leg bleeding. Being wounded was going to slow her down in her constant movement through the woods. Therefore she seemed to be putting her anger off not on her own stupidity of getting caught in the situation – A situation she shouldn’t have found herself in to begin with. As she clenched and unclenched her hands, she paused for only a moment to take in what was going on. She was rather certain that this guy that had rescued her from the boar was going to want a cut of her food. Worse yet, he could expect more from her. A fling. A favor. Gods help her - a conversation. It simply wouldn’t do. It just wouldn’t. It had been a while since Aella had been around very many people. Slavers sometimes - which was never any fun. Maybe another trapper or hunter, but running into them usually meant that she was in competition for resources. There would be a brief exchange. From time-to-time there would be words. Most of the time, though, she was content with the sounds of the non-human variety. This, she figured, was going to come down to having to share and play nice. The guy did get her out of the tree, after all. She did bend down, though, and let her fingers catch one of her fallen arrows. She was quick to knock the bow. While she didn’t take aim as well as she should have at the boar, she did give herself at least a second that would hopefully keep her from hitting the man. After all, he did have a sword and rather big, muscular arms. She was confident that if she put an arrow into his butt, he would probably chase her up the tree before pulling her down and putting the hurt on. She was hurting enough as it was as she pulled her bow string back, causing her skin to stretch on her palms and burn. Her eye twitched, but in that split second aiming, she made sure to pull the shot away from Jaeden. The string was released. She was almost too afraid to look and see if she’d hit the boar or the ground next to it. Or worse yet – The man.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden had just about reached the boar when he heard that familiar sound of something whizzing through the air. His left shoulder then jerked forward a bit and Jaeden suddenly paused in his step. His gaze soon began to drop down and towards the left as he inevitably saw and arrow sticking through the shallow muscle of his shoulder. Another inch to his left, and it would have missed him completely. Either this woman was a decent shot with the bow or, more than likely when considering her situation with the boar, her skills were about the same as Jaeden’s own. Jaeden soon gave a small gaze to the woman, his indifference showing on his face. Had this happened sometime last season, he would have been cursing and screaming at the pain that now throbbed his shoulder, and looking for ways to exploit the situation and lure the women into his tent. Now, however, he just wanted to be left alone for the most part, and considering that he wasn’t sure if this woman’s not-so-well placed shot was meant as a warning to miss, or a lethal shot to kill him, he was more inclined towards such.

A quick growl echoed from the foliage nearby, citing Red’s disapproval over Jaeden’s most recent wound, and her wish to punish the one responsible. He then gave a quick shake of his head, which silenced her quickly. Jaeden soon just sheathed his sword, still standing in place, before his right hand reached out over his left shoulder, gripping the shaft of the arrow between his fingers. A quick squeeze soon echoed a snapping sound as the rear shaft of the arrow was broken away and tossed to the ground. Another moment later, and Jaeden was breathing out a slight grunt as the arrow was soon pulled forward, freeing it from his arm in the least damaging way possible.

He looked down at the broken arrow for a moment, before looking to the fallen boar once more. Considering the woman hadn’t fired upon him again yet, Jaeden was now leaning towards the former of his two reasons for her aim. So, with a casual toss, Jaeden sent the broken arrow flying to the ground as well before he simply looked forward, and began walking once more. This time, he didn’t stop, passing the boar entirely as he once again began walking back the way he came. In either situation, whether verbally condemning the woman or forgiving her for her shot, Jaeden would have to speak with her, to interact. It, in the long run, went against his purpose from exiling himself to the wilds in the first place. So he opted to simply walk away, leaving her to her own devices. Whether they be to claim the boar and be about her merry, or abandon it as well to get chased up into another tree by future prey.

In the end, Jaeden just felt like going back to camp and sleeping. The only drawback now would be that he would have to invite Red into camp to look at his shoulder. Otherwise, he would pick up her worried thoughts throughout the entire day, not allowing him a moment of rest.

[Aella]

Despite her best attempts at looking calm in the current situation, Aella’s mouth kind of dropped open when she realized what had happened. The expression likely gave away that she’d not been aiming at him. The anger of her pride drained from her so quickly she was certain she’d felt it sucked from the ground underneath her. The growl coming from an uncomfortably close proximity gave her a pause. She glanced for the owner of it but didn’t see whatever it was. Her eyes started darting from the man to the plants something was hiding in. This, she decided, was more awkward than announcing you didn’t eat meat at a Myrian birthday party. In honesty his reaction to the situation both scared and captivated her. She’d never seen someone who had gotten shot act in such a manner. The only noise she’d heard from him was a grunt. Perhaps he was touched by a god? Perhaps he was just insane, because he was walking away from the boar. There she stood, finding herself torn by following after him to satisfy her curiosity or staying where she was to calm the gurgling noise in her stomach. Her hands throbbed. Her leg hurt. Either paths were going to lead to more pain, and truth be told she wasn’t stupid enough to think that she’d manage to keep herself safe if attacked by an animal at that point. She was injured, small, and had clouded judgment due to hunger. “Ugh, petch,” she mumbled under her breath. Her green eyes rolled up towards the canopy as she let out a frustrated exhale. She rolled her shoulders back, grit her teeth, and said a silent prayer that her arrows would be there still when she returned. She wasn’t very pleased with the fact that her belly wasn’t going to be filled with that damned boar, but she’d lived in the Wildlands long enough to know that if it was still there something eating it would put up a rather nasty fight with her to continue doing so. “My Gods, at least wait long enough to get a fill of the kill,” she barked at the retreating Jaeden. He was insane. She was sure of that. Maybe he had some sort of knight fantasy that she’d screwed up for him by shooting him. Sadly that had happened more than once in her life. With her invitation to share given, she let out an arm-flailing little whimper before starting off after him. She was rather pathetic looking with a limp she hoped would eventually go away. She did her best to jog after him, despite the fact that it hurt and her brain telling her this was a bad idea. For some reason she felt compelled to follow – To give an apology and offer to… She wasn’t even sure. She hadn’t gotten that far in the plan.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden kept walking, his head dipping down as her words began to fill his ears. A plea for the food. Jaeden found it odd, considering he was abandoning the boar for her to take it freely now. He gave a slow sigh as he heard her limping steps approaching from behind. As the woman got closer and closer, soon closing the gap to fifteen feet apart, a rustling sound in the bushes announced movement as a small look of red, white and black blurred in movement, coming between her and Jaeden. A sudden flash of golden lights soon caused Jaeden to pause in his walk as the fox soon shifted into a human form. Her naked form was crouched and glaring up at the woman, a ferocity in her eyes as her hands gripped the ground, digging slightly into the dirt. “Don’t you come near him!” she suddenly shouted, her teeth bore revealing slightly longer canines along her row of teeth. “You’ve already shot him once, I won’t let you hurt him further!”

The tip of Jaeden’s bow soon rested along Red’s shoulder, breaking her attention from the approaching woman slightly as her gaze shifted between it and the threat. “Red.” Jaeden’s voice echoed out, softly and calmly, almost carrying a heavy hearted tone to it. “You’re naked in front of me again.”

Red looked over her shoulder at Jaeden, an almost apologetic expression on her face, hinting with slight hesitation. “But…” Red then replied.

“Clothes.” Jaeden said.

“But…” Red then replied, an almost pleading tone in her voice, not wanting to leave Jaeden’s side.

“Clothes, now.” Jaeden repeated, his tone of voice unchanged. “I will meet you back at camp.”

Red slowly rose to a standing position as Jaeden’s bow was soon lowered to his side once again. Her gaze dropped to the ground for a moment. “Okay,” Red then replied, her glare soon begin shifted back to the woman, “but you better not touch him. I will have your hands if you do.”

Red the slowly turned and began walking back, another series of golden light announcing her shifting as she began running back towards camp as fast as she could. Her pace, one could deduce, meant that she was going to return. Jaeden’s gaze followed Red for a moment before dropping to the ground, releasing a sigh. He had said he would meet her back at camp, and now it most likely meant that Red would consider it an invitation to rejoin Jaeden in his random traveling. He would have to leave camp early, leaving her as she slept, once again repeating a process he had started a short while ago. Another inconvenience added to his travels. His gaze then fell to the woman as he remained quiet for a moment, looking her in the eyes. “What is it you want?” Jaeden then finally said after a full chime of silence passed. “The pig is yours now, or is shooting me once not enough to relieve you of wounded pride?”

[Aella]

She stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of a naked Kelvic. Typically her reaction to the creatures was a pitying one. However the threatening nature of this one sent her into a cold tone of voice that made it clear she wasn’t pleased. “I’m not trying to harm him, you twit. If I was, I would have brought another arrow with me.” She would have rolled her eyes if it hadn’t been for the worry that her biting words were going to force her to get into a fight. Then, all too quickly, the situation had turned. The woman, Red, was off again and turning into a fox. It was then that Aella did in fact roll her eyes and gave her a gesture that told her where she thought she could stick that tail of hers. She crossed her arms over her chest. Unless she was hiding daggers under her bodice there, she wasn’t intent on defending herself at that exact moment. Maybe she did have a bit of a death wish or an impulsivity problem, which those that knew her would have guessed before the former. The slight curve of her hip shifted out. Behind the dirt on her face, the ripped pant leg, and the way her blond hair needed to be pulled back again, there seemed to be a spoiled brat. This was an act, though. Nothing in this one’s life had spoiled her. “If my pride was wounded, I would have hit you between the eyes,” she lied with an annoyed lift of her chin. The show she put on was almost convincing, save for the fact that her frustration caused her nose to wrinkle in a tell. Despite her practice, she wasn’t as good with a bow that she could aim that well. She was decent. If aiming she wouldn’t have hit him in the testicles instead of his forehead… More like maybe the eye or… Well, the neck. It had been good enough that teamed with luck she’d survived the last few years on her own. Personally she thought that said something – Even if she was finding herself in the current situation she was in. “Come get part of the boar. You earned a part of it. It’s only fair.”

[Jaeden Kincade]

“I’ll ask you to throw away the offended look on your face over my friend’s protective nature.” Jaeden then said, a bit a sternness in his voice as his eyes narrowed. “Whether it was your intention to harm me or not, the fact is, you did. Despite where you meant to aim and your claims of that aim.”

Jaeden slowly brought his bow to his shoulders. “You’re impulsiveness and rushed attitude got you that wound on your leg and left you stuck in a tree. I know because I got a similar wound over thirteen years ago as a child,” Jaeden then said gazing down at her leg for a moment. “Trying to cover it up with “I would have’s,” a brash attitude and overconfident nature, however, shows a disrespect to the individual you injured who got you out of the situation you were in. Most would have drawn their weapon and struck you down where you stand by now.”

Jaeden eventually shook his head, having felt he lingered to long already. He was beginning to have a conversation, when all he wanted these days was his solitude. The woman, he began to think, was insane. First she shot the one who saved her from death by bleeding out in a tree, then she was ridiculing him for his words over being shot on top of it.

When she offered him part of the boar, he soon shook his head, slowly turning once again. “I no longer seem to have an appetite, and I have rations that I can sustain myself on later.” Jaeden then simply said as he once again began walking towards camp. “Fix your wound and then eat your fill. The scavengers will finish the rest tonight.”

[Aella]

She stood there studying his face as he spoke. In a different situation, she might have gotten distracted by it, but now she was just trying to force whatever expression she had off of her own. Truly she wasn’t sure what she was feeling. There was anger there. And embarrassment. And more than a little annoyance. But there was something else… Some other current running under the rest of the emotions that left a bad taste in her mouth. It was likely the way the moth felt upon realizing it had flittered a little too closely to a campfire. “And if you’d kindly quit lecturing me like I’m sort of child, I’ll get around to the apologizing and grateful thanks as soon as I feel like I’m not under attack in one form or another.” She huffed as he started to walk away. “If I get struck down before that happens so be it. As you pointed out I was dead up that – Hey, where are you going?” Her mouth dropped open for the second time in a very short amount of time. For having short legs, and one not working up to full ability, it seemed the young woman could still run… Well, limp quickly. When she took a diving lunge at his legs, she understood on some level that later on she had lost her mind at least momentarily. At that point, though, her arms – Not as scrawny as was easily assumed – wrapped about his leg. “You are going to take part of that boar, and you are going to eat it. And you are going to enjoy it, or by Gods, I will… I will cry!” Apparently insanity was contagious.