Closed Forced Cooperation (Khara)

[Azira]

The scout looked stunned by the Avora's question. Azira was too tired to find it funny. She waited, gazing at the other with dull eyes when opportunity allowed. The sled did have to be watched from time to time except when the ground was reasonably flat and could go unsupervised while they pulled. Though it was getting harder and harder to haul it. Going up and up was only getting more difficulty. It was going to be horrible to get this meat back to the city, an absolute nightmare. It was going to be agony and it wouldn't be good if the Chiet was in terrible pain as well.

Her lips pressed firmly together at Khara's answer. She didn't believe her. It wasn't the stutter that made her doubt her honesty. It was nothing specific that might give her away but she just knew that the Chiet wouldn't tell her if there was something genuinely wrong with her. She wouldn't want to bother the huntress with it. The way that she'd winced only a moment or so after saying it made the teen doubt her honesty even more. She was lying, Azira was sure of it. The young woman was ready to question the girl on it to extract the truth from her about the extent of her injuries. The other panted out something that was supposed to be humorous. The huntress snorted. That was very comforting.

Azira shook her head. What was she to do with the girl? She could probably prod her for an answer for days - maybe a slight exaggeration - and she'd still remain stoic. If the young woman didn't want to complain about her injuries then that was her problem. She'd know all about her injuries once they reached the Infirmary. Then if it was bad, she'd be free to clout the Chiet for lying if she so chose.

The game scout's question threw her, the girl's feet stopping for a brief moment so that she stumbled a step in surprise. Had she really just asked about how she was doing? Her clarification had Azira glancing down to where her hands gripped the rope. Red stains dried on her skin where her blood had oozed out from her palms. It did look really bad but it wasn't actually that bad now, was it? She chewed her lip as she considered how to pass it off as being better than it seemed.

"Well, it petching stings but I don't think that it's actually that bad. Worse than it looks," she explained. Before she had a chance to explain further, her attention was switched to the sled as they ended up on very rocky ground. It jittered up and down, which made it much harder to tug it upwards. It was a few chimes of huffing and puffing and straining before they were free of it and another chime before the huntress could regain her breath and gather her scattered thoughts enough to explain her injuries a bit more to the other.

"Like I was saying worse than it looks. Rope burns, wood splinters, think I split my skin a bit getting the ivy and I think I might be allergic to it too. My palms are sweaty though so it's probably just watered down a bit. It'll be fine," she explained in an off hand sort of way. A shrug was given, the rope slackening slightly with the movement and she quickly pulled it taut again, wincing as the coarse material rubbed against her cut palms. She tightened her grip so that it couldn't slip again.

"So how bad are you really? I doubt that you're actually fine so... how bad are your hands? How deep did you cut yourself?" the huntress asked, giving her less chance to wriggle out from passing it off as nothing this time.

Nari | Common

Template courtesy of Khara

[Khara]

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There was no avoiding the question this time. While she would have loved to try and redirect back to the Avora, the way Azira had described her injures didn't leave a lot to comment or question. While obviously painful, it sounded like she wasn't too concerned, something Khara couldn't help but wonder if it was genuine or if it was just something that came with having to be the stronger upper caste member. The words struggled to form as breath caught in her throat not entirely due to reluctance. The effort of pulling the sled was really getting to her, but damned if she was going to fail now. Not this close, even if the next few chimes or bells or whatever were going to seem like the longest of her life. Answering the Avora's question certainly wasn't going to help it pass any quicker, but it couldn't be just brushed off either.

A struggled glance was cast towards her cut hand before golden eyes snapped forward. She had to fight against every instinct she had to remain silent to finally say something, and it certainly wasn't worded how she wanted. "I... I'm not sure."

Khara cringed, both from her own lack of apparent ability to communicate and from a sudden jerk from the sled as it moved over a rock. "It hurts, I suppose, but not really any worse than my other hand. Mostly just rope burns and things like that, same as yours, I guess. Except the Ivy."

It was as if a cork had suddenly been pulled from a particularly stubborn and overfilled bottle, the Chiet took a struggled breath before continuing on, pauses between words continuing as a forced not-quite gasps for air were pulled into her lungs. "I just nicked myself, that's all. At least, I think so. It bled a lot at first but it isn't anymore. I could see into the cut a bit earlier when we took a break but didn't really keep poking at it because I didn't want it to start bleeding again. And it doesn't seem to hurt as much as I think it should but that is probably because it isn't all that bad or maybe everything else is just so achy that I can't really think about it too much and I'm not sure if that's good or bad but I figure when we get back I'll just wash it off and maybe wrap it in something and..."

It was the sled's running over another rougher patch that blessedly caused her to stop rambling. Good thing too as apparently somewhere near the end of the small tirade the girl had forgotten to try and regulate her breathing and she now once more was forced to suck in air in gulps. She remained silent as they struggled through the area but once they were free and the ground evened out a touch she launched back into it with the only thing the Chiet could think to end on.

"Like I said, though. I'll make it back." Even if it's the last thing I do, her head added unhelpfully. She was certain she would get some sort of rebuke from yammering on as she had, but if it answered the question for the moment it would be worth it. Truth was, as reluctant as Khara was to admit her self-caused injury to the Avora, there was also a great deal of not wanting to speak on it further and avoid having to admit it to herself as well. If she didn't think about it, the injury became just another ache in the seemingly overwhelming fatigue that threatened to topple upon her at any moment. It was only when she really focused on it that she became aware of the fact the throbbing was worse in that hand, that her thumb and nearest finger were going slightly numb where they wrapped around the rope - but the same was true for everywhere she grasped the rope tightly, wasn't it? Maybe she was holding on too tight. Khara didn't dare lesson her grip to test that theory.

The Chiet's eyes continued to remain locked ahead of them, sweeping the fringes of her field of vision for any path that didn't look as strenuous. It was then she began to notice the area, although different in the lower light of Syna's setting, was beginning to look more familiar. Not just because of the fact they had most certainly come from the opposite direction that morning, but more that the small landmarks were where she expected them to, the uneven parts where her footing fell seemed to be right where she thought they could be. They must have passed through the area with the zynx tracks already and not even noticed! They were getting so close now! That thought was enough to bring a sudden flare of renewed strength. There was still quite a ways to go until they reached Wind Reach, but there was one thing that Khara could at least share with the huntress that would hopefully lighten her mood as well.

"We're nearing the Sanikas road. Shouldn't be too long now. Another few chimes and these trees will clear a bit and we'll be able to see it." Breathless as the small report came out, it certainly felt uplifting to be relaying some good news for a change.
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"Nari" | "Common"

[Azira]

The Chiet was initially silent, no doubt trying to find a way to squirm out of answering the question. She hasn't got a way out of it though, the huntress thought with grim satisfaction. A faint smirk rested upon her features, which switched to a grimace of pain as sled jolted and sent pain lancing through the many small wounds on her hands. It served her right for thinking the way that she had, she supposed but then it had been bound to happen. It was mere coincidence, that was all.

The scout offered a tentative answer that didn't really answer what she'd asked. The other wasn't sure, what a wonderfully helpful answer that one had been. The Avora sighed and waited for the girl to elaborate because surely she would. If she didn't then Azira was more than willing to poke and prod her to force a more substantial reply from her lips. A report of the general state of her hands was given, the scout making it no longer than necessary much to her satisfaction. They were pretty much in the same boat except for Azira's problems related to the ivy and Khara's incident with the knife, something that she hadn't yet elaborated on.

What had been a trickle of words that could be easily shut off became a torrent. It was nonsense mostly, rambling and a rapid splurge of syllables. The Avora stared wide eyed at the other young woman as she spoke and spoke and wondered if there would be an end. There was certainly no end in sight and it was only the exertion of pulling the sled that prevented her from continuing by stealing her breath away. The new silence was met with a sign of relief from the huntress but she regarded the Chiet warily in case another onslaught began but she seemed to be too out of breath for more or had realised the error of her ways. Left with the capability to hear herself thinking once more Azira picked through what Khara had said, sifting through it to separate the useless bits from the parts that were of some use to her. The game scout had cut herself but she wasn't sure how deep it was but it was deep enough to have bled and had stopped bleeding now. If it was as straightforward as that then why hadn't the girl simplified it instead of flinging a wall of sound at her?

The silence between them was broken briefly so that she could offer reassurances to the huntress that she wouldn't fail to get back to the volcanic city. What a great relief that was, Azira was so glad, not that she voiced her sentiments aloud of course. No, the silence was nurtured, neither of them saying anything more as their journey continued. It was far better for them to focus on the sled and getting it to where it was supposed to be going. If they worked hard and concentrated on the task at hand then perhaps they would get back quicker. They were running out of time though, the huntress well aware of how much their time was at a limit.

Syna had begun her descent in earnest now, the orb fast falling to the horizon and bringing its fiery rays along with it. The light changed, becoming redder as the orb sunk below the horizon. Not long now until those rays would become more faint and they would be plunged into darkness altogether, left to grope their way back to Wind Reach while not breaking their necks in the process.

The game scout's words had her gaze snapping upwards from where they'd been examining the terrain. Her eyes grew sharp as she searched for the same markers that the Chiet had used, not believing Khara until she had determined the truth of what she'd said with her own eyes. They were almost back. Had they really come so far so fast? And without noticing? Well, it had taken them longer on the return trip than it would have if they'd be unencumbered by the load they dragged behind them. Syna's light wasn't gone yet either but they would only need it for a few chimes. Once they reached the road there would be no more need to worry about anything anymore. The road would set them straight. They were almost on the home stretch and damn did it feel good to be so close to home!

The news brought new energy to the huntress, the young woman pushing forward eagerly in her attempt to reach the road as soon as possible. She was so close now that she could begin to harbour thoughts of what her reception in the Processing Centre would be like. It'd be a different matter entirely to get the sled up to that point but try would manage it even if it did make the Inner Warrens seem a bit smaller than usual. It'd fit though, she was pretty sure that it would but she'd soon find out if it wouldn't.

The trees parted and the far smoother surface of the road was under their feet. The Avora smiled as they trudged up it, knowing that they were coming closer and closer to the gate. Syna's light was gone, only a dim residue remaining behind that was already fading into blackness. It was only a matter of getting up the last stretch something that would seem to happen in the blink of an eye compared to the longer journey that they'd already made. It was a relief to reach those gates and know that they were home.

Nari | Common

Template courtesy of Khara

[Khara]

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The road, while a welcome sight and certainly less strenuous to walk on than the uneven paths they had made through the wilds, was instantly steeper in it's climb back to Wind Reach. For a tick Khara considered offering to run ahead and find some Dek to finish pulling the sled the rest of the way, but she was quick to realize how it may appear to suddenly run off now that they were so close. Maybe once inside the warrens the huntress would find some unsuspecting soul to take over for her, the Chiet wasn't expecting the same possibility of respite. A glance over at the Avora again made her question the thought even further, there was a certain determined look in her eye that made Khara wonder if the huntress would allow anyone but herself to finish bringing in the haul. There could be a small amount of satisfaction in knowing they alone had done it, after all.

The last going was tough, seeming to drag on endlessly to a point where Khara had to honestly wonder if they were actually walking backwards down the road rather than up it. Well, the processing center in Thunder Bay should still be up and running, the thought brought a slight laugh that sounded more like another struggled breath than anything else. Maybe later she'd actually laugh off this entire thing. Much later, like days later given the fact that Khara was pretty sure she was going to collapse on her bed as soon as she was able. Gods, did she have the day off tomorrow? She couldn't remember and that probably meant no. Worry about that tomorrow, sparrow. If you can even move.

When the gates finally came in view Khara thought she might just collapse then and there. It was home enough, wasn't it? But no, they still had to make it to the processing center. She had only been there a handful of times but the Avora certainly seemed to know her way and the game scout did her best to keep up with the changes in direction through the narrow tunnels. They drew stares a times, of course they did; two blood stained slightly smaller than average teenage girls dragging a heap of moose meat on some horribly contrived sled made of branches, rope, ivy and ferns. What a sight they must have been. But where she had expected to feel some sense of pride, the Chiet only found each look in their direction entirely uncomfortable. It was attention, maybe even the good kind, but that didn't stop it from being unwanted. Please don't let the horse boy see me, Khara silently prayed. She wasn't sure why that was so important at that very moment, but thankfully the last bit of effort to move the rickety sled through the warrens was enough to bring a halt to that line of thinking.

Khara could only imagine what the reaction would be once they reached the processing center. Would they be too timid to try and make a big deal out of it? Was it even a big deal? One thing was for certain, they better give whatever type of reception the huntress expected. Even tired from the day's labours, Khara was pretty sure the Avora would still be more than capable of lashing out at all the Chiet there.
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"Nari" | "Common"

[Azira]

It had been hard going up until they reached the gates but Azira hadn't fully noticed. Elation, or possibly adrenaline had gone to her head and she'd felt lighter, stronger, more able for everything. Whatever had been driving her onwards began to die once they actually set foot in the city. They were so close but yet being at the gates wasn't good enough. They still had a long drag ahead of them through twisting tunnels up to the Processing Centre before they'd be able to get any rest. Navigating through the city itself became the hardest part of the whole trip, the huntress just wanting to collapse.

People stared at them as they passed, many flattening themselves against the tunnel sides so as not to be caught in the sled's path. Dek stared openly then dropped their gazes as they remembered their places and the Avora was tempted more than once to command some of them to take over. There was the simple matter of her pride though. She could make Dek drag her haul to be weighed and processed but it'd be much better - in her eyes at least - to have only two people involved. It'd be far more impressive and the Chiet and few Avora waiting to receive them would realise that they'd gone it alone. Even if they assumed that Khara had assisted her in the hunt, such a large kill for two people was still sure to shock everyone.

It became harder and harder to put one foot in front of the other as the Processing Centre drew nearer. It didn't seem like they were approaching it though, it was almost like they were going backwards. The surface that they were on was the best of the lot for pulling the damn sled, the floor having become worn under the passage of so many feet but it wasn't making life any easier for either of them. Azira had a fair idea how Khara was feeling and if the girl collapsed right now then the Avora wouldn't have been surprised; she was about ready to collapse herself. Her whole body was aching from the labour she'd put it through and the exhaustion that had rooted itself throughout wasn't helping matters. She could go to the Infirmary, soak in the baths - she didn't even care who was there - and fall into bed. It was going to be more of a struggle not to fall asleep before the bed part happened though.

Fantasies of hot water, clouds of steam billowing around her while all the pain and tension left her muscles kept her going just that little bit longer. If she could get to the Processing Centre then a hot bath would be her reward.

The two girls staggered in through the doorway and pulled the sled in behind them. The Centre was still fairly busy, the advent of darkness doing little to slow things down. There would still be Avora and Endal returning with meat for a while yet before the butchers could get off. As a result their arrival caused a ripple. The noise within the place sickened and died as everyone took in the sight of the two blood splattered teens, barely able to stand, who'd brought half a tree in with them.

"Back to work! We haven't got all day!" the supervisor's voice rang out, restoring order and labour to the place. A stutter as work began again, the workers still curious about what was going on before the noise of work picked up in earnest again. The supervisor, a sour faced woman named Fereira approached them, eyeing their makeshift sled suspiciously. "What's this?"

The teen had relinquished her hold on her rope by this stage, collapsing against the nearest wall and resisting the urge to slide down it. She waved a hand in the sled's direction.

"Moose meat. Couldn't bring the whole thing back so I cut what I could off. I'm no butcher though," she explained, closing her eyes. She'd just rest them for a chime and then she'd feel so much better, so refreshed. Fereira's call for some Chiet to come get the meat made her jump out of her sleepy stupor, wide awake for a few ticks before she sank back into lethargy and watched the proceedings with glazed eyes.

A few of the butchers came forward, leaving different stations to examine and sort through the meat. Sniggered comments about the moose having been shredded by wolves rather than a knife reached her but she hardly noticed, even when the Chiet baulked when they realised that she could hear them. The bits that were of no use for the Inarta were cut away from the rest, thrown into containers that would go to feed the birds, nothing wasted. When they'd separated it out it was weighed, one number for their meat and one number for the birds' meat. Chunks were dumped on the scale with hides beneath them, the other side balanced out with weights.

Fereira came back over to her once the weighing was done, the huntress managing to find the energy to raise an eyebrow although it felt extremely heavy. "I have no idea where you pulled that from and I don't know how you did either."

"It wasn't all of it, we had to leave some. Quite a lot actually," the teen commented. The supervisor looked shocked.

"Must have been a big moose."

"Big bull moose."

"I... it was just over three hundred and fifty pounds."

"Oh was that all?" the huntress asked dryly. She knew it was a lot for them to pull over the distance that they had. Someone had told her that it was easier to drag large weights than lift them and that the body could manage more than twice its weight in pull. She squinted at Khara. Sounded about right. "We done then?" The supervisor nodded, clearly stunned by the girl's reaction. Now that it was done with she was almost too tired to care.

"C'mon, Khara. We're going to the Infirmary then I need to fall into one of the hottest baths in the mountain." She set off leading the way, leaving the butchers to find some way of getting rid of the sled. It wasn't Azira's problem anymore, she'd done all her work.

Nari | Common

Template courtesy of Khara

[Khara]

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Khara had remained silent through the entire exchange, though she wasn't entirely sure it was due to her usual deference. The halt in movement had brought total awareness to the entirety of her exhaustion and had left her with little more than the strength to simply stand there and listen and watch. She was more than thankful that she wasn't being asked to help sort and pile the meat onto the scales and was a bit dismayed as she listened to Azira talk of how much they did have to leave behind. It would have been amazing if they had managed to bring back the entire moose. The horns alone were a particularly sad thing to leave behind, even if she wouldn't have seen a pinion from their trade.

But then the number was stammered out by the supervisor and Khara felt like she was going to collapse all over again. Three hundred, fifty?? No wonder she felt like her arms could fall right out of their sockets! In all her wild estimates she hadn't even come close to that number. A small laugh did manage to leave her though as Azira seemed unfazed by the announcement. The look on Fereira's face was near priceless in itself, though. It almost made the entire thing worth it alone.

As the huntress finished, Khara was only vaguely aware of her name being spoken and then the most wonderful promise and idea of all came. A tending to all the annoying injuries and then the baths. Khara doubted there would ever be anything as wonderful feeling as those two things in that moment. Now you just have to hope you don't fall asleep before you can make it back to your room, her inner voice added, sounding almost as sluggish as the rest of her. As Khara followed Azira out of the processing center and cast one last glance at the sled that had managed to get everything back, she honestly didn't think she cared if she didn't manage it.

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"Nari" | "Common"

[Sira]

Grade Awarded Azira Skills: +2 Running +3 Leadership +5 Wilderness Survival +2 Stealth +2 Tracking +1 Intimidation +1 Hunting +1 Planning +1 Weapon: Shortbow +1 Weapon: Knife +5 Hunting +5 Butchery +1 Weaving +3 Endurance Lores: Mistaken for an Endal Wilderness Survival: Making Sure to only Step where the Footing is Best Tracking: Moose Prints Recognizing places where Animals have Slept Age Differences in Prints near Water Luring a Moose into a Trap Coming up with Solutions in the Moment Dressing Moose Meat Lore of Moose Anatomy Delegating Tasks Utilizing Nature to its Fullest Knowing When to Rest 350lbs of Moose Equals two tired Inarta Khara: Talks too Much Khara: A Game Scout Khara: Mostly Submissive, but with a hint of ambition Khara: Not willing to admit weakness Khara: She might just be useful Khara: Good at following Instructions Working Together to get the Job Done First Moose Kill Khara: Jealous of Azira Khara Skills: +3 Rhetoric +4 Observation +4 Tracking +2 Stealth +1 Teaching +1 Planning +1 Trapping +1 Weapon: Shortbow +5 Hunting +5 Wilderness Survival +1 Weaving +3 Endurance Lores: Carefully Choosing the Right Words Using Landmarks to Retrace One's Steps Tracking: Zynx Prints Tracking: Moose Prints Considering the Potential of Marking a Trail with Color-Coded Cloth Recognizing places where Animals have Slept Tracking: Indications of a Moose Passing Making a Trap out of Rope Using Plants to Transport Meat Making a Sled out of Skin and Leaves Weaving Branches to Make A Barrier 350lbs of Moose Equals two tired Inarta Azira: A Bossy Avora Azira: Might just Kill Me Azira: Determined to Catch Her Prey, No Matter the Risk Azira: Maybe a little bit Insane Working Together to get the Job Done Azira: Fearless even against the Unfamiliar Pushing through the Pain Azira: There's a Soft Spot in there Somewhere Additional Comments: By far one of the best hunting threads I've ever read. Great job you two! I wasn't entirely sure what to award for building the sled and all that so I awarded a lot of wilderness survival because you utilized the wilderness to get your kill back. Anyway, if you have any questions or concerns about the grade, please feel free to PM me. Oh, and please edit your request post to say that it has been graded.