Closed A Meeting in the Nighttime.

[Snaeha Datura]

Snaeha knew very little about her biological mother's people as well. She shrugged her shoulders, and pulled a face that implied such matters were not worth learning about. "They are red heads. That's all I care to know." She appreciated his interest in her life, even if it was in the one aspect that she cared the least about. No Symenestra born from a surrogate had a relationship with the woman who gave birth to them; all those women were dead, and the vast majority of her peers cared even less than Snaeha. But then again, they hadn't inherited her glorious red hair...

"Well, I'm glad you're curious and not hungry." She joked light heartedly, laughing airily at her own hilarious wit. But the subject of hunger reminded her of the rather annoying task of hunting, which she was yet to make any progress in. She glanced down at the short bow and quill in her hands, then back at the Zith male in front of her.

Perhaps he could be of some use.

But if Snaeha expected this complete stranger to want to help her in hunting, she would need to approach the topic in the correct and careful way. "Now I'm curious." She started, raising the hand that gripped her hunting equipment, "do your people hunt with tools or with..." Her voice trailed off, and Snaeha waved her free hand towards Aranta's torso, not entirely sure how to describe those taut muscles, claws and wings. For a chime, she allowed herself to admire all three.

Yes, he definitely had his uses.

|| Snaeha's speech || Snaeha's thoughts || Others' speech ||

[Aranta]

Aranta was disappointed that Snaeha could not tell him more about this new race, but he supposed that was just something that happened sometimes. Perhaps the Symenestra were like the Zith, and didn't care much about other races in general except for how dangerous and how delicious they were.

It took Aranta a moment to piece together what the other was getting at, but then he shook his head. "We hunt in different ways," he explained. "Some only use claws, some drop their prey from great heights, some use tools, and some use all methods." He reached for his harness and pulled out his hunting knife, showing it to the woman. "I use this and claws." Gesturing to the tool held in Snaeha's hand, he asked, "Is that a..." What was the word... "Bow?"

[Snaeha Datura]

Snaeha audibly gasped when Aranta mentioned one of the more frightening Zith hunting techniques. "Some drop their victims?" Her lips hung slack, her amethyst eyes wide with surprise. Yes, her people killed hundreds of women through forced pregnancy - but that helped the Symenestra race continue. It could hardly be a pleasant way to die, but it was better than falling to your death. She shuddered.

"Ah! Yes," she nodded, still a little fazed by the horror of her own imagination. Snaeha held up the short bow to allow him to get a clearer view. It was a pretty little weapon, made with a dark wood that can been shaped into a delicate arc and then fitted with a bowstring. "This is a shortbow. Unfortunately... I'm not the best shot." She allowed herself to pout just a fraction, hoping to pull at his heartstrings enough for him to take pity on her lack of skill and bounty.

"It may well be a long night for me at this rate." She flashed a sad little smile, and mentally high-fived herself for pulling this sad-woe-is-me look so wonderfully.


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[Aranta]

Aranta eyed the bow appreciatively; it looked like a fine weapon. He was curious, however, about the expression on Snaeha's face-- it was similar to the ones females used sometimes to entice males into doing things for them. Surely the Symenestra wasn't trying that on Aranta? Female Zith generally didn't unless they were scoping out potential mates...

Still, Aranta knew enough of non-Zith culture to know that it would be considered rude-- whatever that was, but he thought it was something bad-- not to offer a female help. It was an odd custom, but one that Aranta had seen across many races, so he assumed it was commonplace. "I can help," he offered awkwardly. "I am not a great hunter, but I am good."

[Snaeha Datura]

Somehow, Snaeha managed to not look too smug, despite her ploy having worked like a treat. "Really?" She said in a surprised voice that sounded a little too forced, "I would appreciate that hugely, thank you." At least there was some sincerity to those words, the final two in particular being spoken in a softer voice.

Snaeha disliked those that used the word 'manipulative' as an insult. Yes, she was perhaps a little too happy to flutter her eyelashes to twist people into helping her. She admitted this fact quite happily - there was no denying it after all. But she enjoyed being looked after and pampered. Plus, she felt that there was some moral code to her practise; she would never force someone to do something they truly did not want to do, nor would she expect someone to help her with a task she could easily do herself. And she never, ever, expected men to buy her presents. That final rule of hers was the most concrete; when a man gives you a gift, he'll most likely expect something in return.

And Snaeha was no giver.

"I was hoping to hunt an owl, or something of that size. There's myself, my parents and two brothers to feed." Snaeha touched Aranta's arm - intrigued by the soft furry feel of his skin - and pointed in an easterly direction, away from the entrance of Kalinor. If he was going to help her hunt for food, Snaeha knew the socially-acceptable response to give, "And yourself, of course. You're more than welcome to join us." She glanced at him, offering one of her best smiles, "though I assume you'll want to eat your own bounty, given our dietary differences."


.

[Aranta]

Aranta turned his gaze in the direction Snaeha pointed, picking out several owls flying about. He startled, however, when she laid a hand on his shoulder, and reacted instinctively by hissing and jumping to the side, wings flaring in preparation for takeoff, should it prove necessary. He only just missed hitting get the woman with his wings.

Once Aranta realized that Snaeha had meant no harm, he ducked his head in apology. "Sorry," he murmured before taking off and flying quickly between trees to a good spot near where the owls had been.

Once there, Aranta mulled over what had just happened while he waited for an owl to come into his line of sight. He was unused to physical contact now that he had left the colony; few non-Zith were willing to touch a Zith, mainly for fear of getting good too close and being attacked. Yet this spider-woman had touched him; it had only been a light touch, but a touch nonetheless. It was confusing, and Aranta put it from his mind in favor of focusing on the hunt.

He shifted carefully into a crouch, ready to leap from his branch at the first sign of prey, and he did not have long to wait. An owl flew by, probably scanning the ground for its own dinner, and Aranta leapt, his wings catching him just as he caught the owl and wrung it's neck. He flew back Snaeha, dropping the owl on a nearby rock before flying to another tree to wait for another owl.

[Snaeha Datura]

Her touched seemed to repulse or terrify him, Snaeha was not sure which. Once again, she flinched at his sudden movements, but even then she felt the cool air whip at her face as his wings spread outwards. His apology fell upon slightly deaf ears, but she did mutter something that sounded like don't worry about it. To be quite frank, she was a little insulted.

He flew off, and for a brief tick Snaeha forgot what had just happened - she was too impressed with seeing a grown man fly. Once he was out of eyeshot, she sniffed indignantly and turned away. She would not move far, otherwise they would surely lose each other, but she was sure not going to wait around for him.

Snaeha Datura does not wait around for a man.

She notched another arrow, raised her short bow and prowled through the murky undergrowth of the trees. Owls, she decided, were his vicinity now. Plus, she didn't want to risk shooting Aranta thinking he was some giant night bird. Snaeha would concentrate on the numerous earth-bound nocturnal creatures, mice and the like. There were plenty of dirt mounds around her, either from lemmings or moles, so surely it couldn't be too long until she found something.

A snuffling sound lead Snaeha to the right, treading carefully so as to not scare away whatever little creature she had heard. She let her arrow fly at a small, furry mysterious shape. The arrow landed true to her arm - [i]yes![i] - and the mole let out a weak sound before slumping on the earth.

Not the most glamorous of foodstuffs, but a kill regardless. Snaeha unpicked her arrow from the mole's flank and placed it back in the quill on her back. When she made her way back to their original meeting place, she saw Aranta had already caught a big white owl. "Not bad," she murmured, lying her bounty next to his, considerably more impressive, kill.


.

[Snaeha Datura]

Her touched seemed to repulse or terrify him, Snaeha was not sure which. Once again, she flinched at his sudden movements, but even then she felt the cool air whip at her face as his wings spread outwards. His apology fell upon slightly deaf ears, but she did mutter something that sounded like "don't worry about it." To be quite frank, she was a little insulted.

He flew off, and for a brief tick Snaeha forgot what had just happened - she was too impressed with seeing a grown man fly. Once he was out of eyeshot, she sniffed indignantly and turned away. She would not move far, otherwise they would surely lose each other, but she was sure not going to wait around for him.

Snaeha Datura does not wait around for a man.

She notched another arrow, raised her short bow and prowled through the murky undergrowth of the trees. Owls, she decided, were his vicinity now. Plus, she didn't want to risk shooting Aranta thinking he was some giant night bird. Snaeha would concentrate on the numerous earth-bound nocturnal creatures, mice and the like. There were plenty of dirt mounds around her, either from lemmings or moles, so surely it couldn't be too long until she found something.

A snuffling sound lead Snaeha to the right, treading carefully so as to not scare away whatever little creature she had heard. She let her arrow fly at a small, furry mysterious shape. The arrow landed true to her arm - yes! - and the mole let out a weak sound before slumping on the earth.

Not the most glamorous of foodstuffs, but a kill regardless. Snaeha unpicked her arrow from the mole's flank and placed it back in the quill on her back. When she made her way back to their original meeting place, she saw Aranta had already caught a big white owl. "Not bad," she murmured, lying her bounty next to his, considerably more impressive, kill.


.

[Aranta]

Aranta continued hunting, returning with another owl, this time a dark brown one, before waiting by the rock for Snaeha. He mused that his time among the Symenestra must have affected him more than he'd thought-- he actually felt bad for flinching from Snaeha's touch. As such, when Snaeha returned to the rock, Aranta was waiting for her.

"I am sorry," he said as soon as he was certain that he had her attention. "I did not mean to startle or-- " Again, Aranta was left searching for words "-- offend you." He thought that was the right word; offend. It meant to make someone angry, did it not? "I am unused to touch," he explained. "Few wish to be so close to a Zith."

[Snaeha Datura]

There were no more moles, Snaeha was annoyed to realise, in the patchy woodland around her. But stubbornness got the better of her (or rather, competitiveness). She would not allow herself to come across as quite as hopeless as she actually was. No, she would not lose face to the Zith that easily.

So her attention was raised up, into the trees. Shooting at flying birds still carried the risk of injuring the Zith who had so kindly offered to help her, but the birds roosting up in the trees were much safer targets.

Plus, they weren't even moving, so it was a sure thing she would kill them.

Two hunched forms caught her attention. Their outlines were strange, entirely un-bird like. But Snaeha guessed that, as all roosting birds did, the two pigeons had tucked their heads under their wings as they slept. She decided on the fatter one of the two, and raised the short bow to her cheekbone to aim. The bowstring was pulled back, the arrow released. It shot off about two feet to the left of the pigeon, disappearing into the thin night. Snaeha swore under her breath and the two birds stuck their heads up, alarmed. Fortunately, neither of them moved, so she tried again.

This time, her arrow flew cleanyl into the bird, hitting it right in the feathery chest. It fell backwards, cracking on the ground with a sound that made Snaeha pull a face.

Aranta was already at their meeting place with another owl, which made their total number of kills an impressive four. She was just about to compliment his skill (a rare occurrence for her to actually give the compliment and not receive it), when the Zith spoke. His words caught her off guard, though she tried to hide this fact. "Don't worry about it." She offered, a little aloofly, "I wasn't offended."

She would have never considered how touching the Zith male would have resulted in such a reaction from him. When she had extended her hand to feel that strange furriness of his skin, Snaeha had not perceived him as a Zith as such. In her typical egotistical mindset, she had seen him as yet another suitor, another young man who was simply eager to help her. She had rewarded him as such, with a gentle touch that many other men would have been envious of. And he had recoiled from her! Her nose wrinkled as these thoughts progressed, and she finally decided that she was, in fact, a little insulted.

"We had better get back into the city," The suggestion was accompanied by a slight nod of her head, back in the direction she had come from. Before he could respond, Snaeha began walking.


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