Closed Miles Away From Home

[Savos]

85th of Summer, 514 AV


Through corridors and winding hallways and the black sky of a moonless night, an old clothing merchant sat on a wooden chair outside his open stall, chatting away with Savos. They had been there for about an hour, and Savos was about ready to head home and go to bed. It was close to dawn now, but staying up so late was not so strange in the ethereal city.

“It's astounding that you're still open at this hour,” Savos mentioned as their previous laughter waned. Nima had just cracked a joke about an angry wife and snails. It was rather hilarious.

“Eh, I missed a day shift, so I gotta make it up. I get just as many customers now as I do in the day, y'know.”

“I can't even say I'm surprised,” Savos said, looking down the alleyway to admire the commotion about someone trying to haggle down a pair of shoes. There was still just as much hustle and bustle around the market as there would be at midday.

Savos was beginning to truly love Lhavit's nights. Summer was coming to an end, and during these hot days, night was the perfect time to be out. In the dim light and glow of plants and candles, the city's warmth could be seen seeping through every nook and cranny of every building, every person, every animal. If one took a moment to stop and look at the stars, they would find themselves covered by a blanket of gleaming lights, each individual star twinkling as though it was waiting to burst and light up the blackness.

“Oh, I didn't tell you!” Nima exclaimed, pulling Savos away from his thoughts.

“Yesterday, I got a commission for a shirt from the most captivatin' lady. A real beauty, I tell ya.”
“Don't you have a wife, my dear Nima?”
“And I love 'er very much, don't you question it. Besides, this one's much too wild an' young for me. I'm talkin' about you, ya daft fool.”

Savos raised an eyebrow.

“I'm not letting you set me up, Nima.”
“Why not? I'm a great matchmaker, son, and I haven't seen you with a lady since I met ya.”
“Doesn't mean there haven't been any.”
“Have there?”

Savos said nothing, tried not to chuckle when Nima burst into infectious laughter. He continued to tease him,

“Come on Savos, she should be comin' here soon to pick up her wares. Give her a nice smile, get a drink over at the pub.”
“First off, I'm broke. Secondly, What's the big idea Nima? Since when do you try to set me up?”
“First off,” he repeated to badger Savos, “I'm always lookin' for a pretty lady for you. 'Cause I'm a good friend, y'know. Secondly, This one's a special one. She's from Taloba.”

Savos almost did a double take, and if he had been sipping at something at that moment, he would have spat it out in a dramatic fashion.

“Taloba? You mean she's Myrian?
“One hundred percent. Fierce and the like, too.”
“Goddamn it Nima, the last person I want to talk to right now is another Myrian, let alone ask one out on a date.” Savos said, clearly frustrated.

“What? I thought you'd look forward to meetin' another Myrian. You keep talking about how nice it would be to talk to one in person, maybe even hike over to Taloba and-”
“Yes yes , but, not like-”
“Like what?”

Savos was not sure “like what”. He had indeed dreamed of this moment where he could ask a true Myrian, in person, all the questions he had stowed away under his bed as a growing child. He wanted to know more and understand more, about himself and about the people and about the trees of the jungle they lived in. Yet, he was not ready. Not ready for-

“Hello Nima.”

[Savos]

The voice came from behind and was directed toward the old man, who stood up like a soldier at attention.

“Neve, pleasure to see you so soon!”
“Have you completed the commission?”
“Yes, yes, let me go fetch it inside. Please wait here,” Nima ran into the back to find the piece.

Savos stood where he was before, leaning against the wall, staring like a buffoon. There was no doubt in his mind that this “Neve” was the warrior woman Nima was talking about. She was clad in the leather and bone garb that was trademark of her race, bore the tattoos that showed off her prowess in battle. She was not oblivious to his presence and turned around to return the glare. She towered over him, eyed him up and down.

“Can I help you?” She asked, in the tones of someone who is really not looking to help with anything at all.
“No, I was just passing through. I'll be, ehm, leaving,” Savos replied awkwardly. For a small moment, he had imagined introducing himself to the woman. She was the picture form of everything he had imagined about Myrians, and more. He would've stayed, but there was something that bothered him too much. Even though she was looking right at him, he could tell, that she did not recognize him as a fellow Myrian. Her gaze was cold, unfamiliar.

Nima broke out of his cluttered shop just as Savos made a move to leave. He stopped him quickly, put a hand over Savos' shoulder and dragged him back. He handed Neve the shirt, and spoke up as she searched her person for some coin.

“I see you've encountered my good friend here. Neve, this here is Savos, whom I was speaking to you earlier about,” he spoke in a much more well spoken manner with customers than he did when speaking casually with Savos.

Neve paused, look back at Savos. She stared him down again, this time examining, searching. Savos could tell exactly what had happened: Nima had told Neve about his Myrian descent, and now she was simply confused about how that could possibly be.

“You are Savos...?”
“Um, yes.”
“What is your clan, child? I want your full name.”
“I don't have one,” Savos replied, finding it difficult to look straight into her eyes. He figured it would be useless to tell her his human family name. She looked confused, stumped, as it were.

“I don't understand. You can't not--”
“My parent died when I was very young,” interrupting Neve felt terrifying, but Savos had to. He would not allow this awkwardness to continue, feeling just as uncomfortable as Neve felt confused.

“According to the people who raised me, I was sold to them by merchants who had found me. I'm from Denval.”

The was strong silence between the three characters in the little alleyway. Neve said nothing, Nima probably felt guilty for setting up this awkward encounter, and Savos felt like he had said enough in regards to summarizing his life story.

“... You have never... been home?” She spoke with such chagrin that it tore at Savos' heart, feeling homesick for a home that had never been home.

“Not once.”

For the smallest moment, Neve was almost beside herself with grief. Imagining that Savos had lived his entire life deprived of everything she knew and loved, was difficult to even fathom. She recollected herself quickly, assimilating the new information. When she looked at Savos again, it was with the warmth of seeing a long lost family member for the first time. Though she did not know him, they were blood, and that meant something.

“Come. Let us find some place to talk.”

She took her coins and tossed them to Nima for payment. The man stood there, wondering idly what kind of meeting he might have created, and almost dropped the coins. He assumed “some place to talk” might as well be a bar with drinks if Savos played his cards right, so he winked happily at his friend. Savos sighed, knowing that he was definitely going to disappoint Nima on that point.

[Savos]

Looking for somewhere quiet to converse further, the two wandered around the Zintia peak in utter silence. Savos had many questions, questions that had no beginning or end, questions that went on like the endless rapids on a river. He wanted to know why she was here, so far from her little home. And he wanted to know what her home was.

They came upon a bench nearby the sundial circle that was somewhat secluded. The glow of the sundial brought upon a soft glow, illuminating Neve's tattoos, remarkable works of art on her face and body. He tried to ask her, but awkwardly spoke at the same time she spoke up. He let Neve speak, discarding his thought for later use.

“So you are from Denval.”
“Raised there for as long as I can remember,” he confirmed.
“Do you know what your parent's clan name was?”
“No. I don't know a thing about them.”

She paused.

“<Do you know any Myrian?>” She asked tentatively in her mother tongue.

Savos understood that she was speaking Myrian, and tried to recall long lost memories of the smattering words he knew. He had learned very little of the language, hearing a few words here and there from people who knew the language. He had tried desperately to retain whatever he heard, but even with his determination, it was difficult.

“<Very... little. Not enough.>” His accent was strong, and it was clear that he struggled with it. A look of sadness touched Neve's eyes. It pained her to see that one of her own was not even blessed with what should have been his own language. She wondered what happened to his parents for him to befall such a fate.

She reverted to speaking common, and asked Savos many more questions. She asked about how he was raised, what he learned, what he knew. He told her about his human parents, how they were as good to him as they could have been, despite their difficulties. He told her about how he learned to draw instead of learning how to fight, how he grew up on the ocean instead of in the trees. He told her about how Denval was destroyed, and by what slim chance he survived and ended up on Lhavit's shores.

She never gave him a chance to ask any questions in return, despite the numerous ones that he had. Though it was frustrating, Savos was still glad that Neve listened so wholly and completely. She was truly interested, and after Savos' last monologue about how he learned how to live in Lhavit, she paused for a long time. There were no more questions, and she appeared lost in thought. Savos considered using it as a chance to ask her a question of his own, but the furrow on her brow suggested it was not the right time.

“It is the will of the gods, that you and I should meet,” Neve finally said, her eye fixated upon the glowing sundial.
“Maybe. Gods have a funny way of doing things.”
“So long you have been lost, and Myri has sent me to find you.”
“This looks more like a silly coincidence, if you ask me. I mean, Nima of all people-”

“Not coincidence,” she said so assuredly that Savos was almost compelled to believe her. She stood up from her seat and faced him.

“This way, I can bring you back, reunite you with our people,” She seemed excited, hopeful, “Myri will be rejoiced to see you rejoin our ranks. Caiyha will sing.”

It took a long time for Savos to process what Neve meant by this. First, he looked up at her and utter surprise, and slowly, that face of surprise turned into terror. She wanted him to go to Taloba. His eyes saw nothing but death, humiliation and pain in that kind of future. No, Taloba was a half baked idea he thought was great when he was a teenager, when he wanted to run away. Now, today, he understood his place was not there.

“Neve, I think you misunderstand,” Savos said, his mind racing for all the possible excuses to give this woman. He found his mind clutching desperately to the ethereal city, terrified of leaving it after finally settling down. He had a job along with a few friends, he was beginning to grow used to the customs. Leth was so close here, and the nightmares of Denval's fall were finally beginning to leave him alone.

“Misunderstand?”
“I- I'm not going to Taloba. I live here.”

Neve had at first a look of confusion on her face. She had expected Savos to be rejoiced, honored that she, Neve of the changing moons, would lead him back to a long lost home. But then she understood what Savos was trying to tell her, and her almost innocent face transformed into one of rage.

“Live here? You must have hit yourself on the head.”
“I'm not joking. I have a job, I can support myself-”
“Who gives a bloody hell about jobs?!” Neve was already furious, pacing around like an angry leopard.

“Taloba is where you must be. You know it. Do not give me excuses.”
“Please Neve, understand. I don't belong there.”
“Don't belong there? So you would rather live on this rock, painting pictures and-”

“Yes, exactly!” Savos got up, raising his voice to Neve's level. He was tired of hearing her outrage, explaining himself like a scared little puppy who had done something wrong.

“I do not belong in Taloba. I am not a fighter or a hunter. I've never wielded a blade, I do not know how to survive in the tropics. I know nothing about you and your people, and I don't care to risk my life to learn about them! Home was Denval. Not Taloba.”

Neve was somewhat shocked by his outburst. She was surprised that he would raise his voice, especially to her. Then she squinted, staring down at Savos in judgment. He did not know his place.

She walked right up to him, slowly, deliberately. Her figure towered over him, blocking out the light from the peaceful sundial. When she spoke next, her voice was a quiet menace, carried on the breeze like a hawk finding its prey.

“You are Myrian. You have been blessed by Myri for being born as you are. You deny her blessing, ignore your birthright, and she will curse you for the rest of your miserable days. I, Neve of the Changing Moons, would help her see to that.

Savos felt tiny, helpless in front of her. He could see the cold fury in the woman's eyes, did not doubt for a single moment the threat that she posed to him, at that very moment and in the future. But the fear she struck in him simply strengthened his fear of Taloba. If the rest of the Myrians were this dangerous, this intense, Savos would not last a day there. He was the opposite of them, a pacifist avoiding conflicts. They would just kill him out of pity.

But he couldn't tell that to Neve. She looked ready to bury her blade in his stomach right about now, and he knew he had better choose his next words wisely. He looked away from her angry eyes, and said slowly,

“I would be lying if I said I never wanted to go to Taloba. I've dreamt of it since I was a kid. But I have to be realistic. I grew up in a little town, and I have never learned to survive in the wilderness. I would never even reach Taloba like this.”

Neve's ferocity was not irrational, and she did not reply rashly to this comment. She considered Savos' words. She knew the wild, knew how right he was that jumping in unprepared would bring only death. He would need to be able to fend for himself, even if she were to accompany him. There was silence again, a cold one, as though the skyglass of Lhavit had stopped bringing its usual warmth for a few seconds.

“Then you will learn. The sun is rising. I must go get my equipment. We will meet here in a bell's time, that will give you time to grab your things."

“To do... what?” Savos asked, somewhat terrified. She couldn't be suggesting to pack up and hike over to Taloba now. That was insanity.

“To hunt, of course. No Myrian should fear the wild. I will teach you."

[Savos]

Savos was left alone to contemplate the surreal nature of the recent events. Organize and compartmentalize information inside the mind. He had met a Myrian, her name was Neve. She wanted him to go to Taloba, it seemed she wanted that even more than he did. He didn't understand why she was so desperate to help him, especially when he didn't really want help. He didn't want to go to Taloba.

One thing he was sure of, was that she was not above hunting him down to that end. She had seemed pretty determined about that. The thought of it scrambled his brains, seeing no way out of his predicament. He mulled over his strange situation on his way to his apartment to pick up his bow and quiver, as well as maybe some rations to eat. Usually, when someone drove another person out of a city, it was over money or some other kind of illegal activity. Savos had done none of that, and his pursuer seemed to only want to help him, somehow.

He figured one way to deal with Neve in order to stay in Lhavit would be to report her to the Shinya. If he claimed that she was trying to abduct him or some other dramatized term, they might be able to arrest her or drive her out of Lhavit. But that too felt like a worst-case scenario. Just as Neve had immediately felt a familial bond with Savos on account of their shared heritage, he too did not wish to report her to some authority for that same reason.

Packing up his belongings was hard, as he kept staring at his bed and dreaming of how soft those sheets must be. He had not slept since a measly afternoon nap the day before, and now he was going out into the Misty Peaks to hunt. He wanted to bang his head on a wall, as punishment for allowing himself to get involved in this. He was sure, though, that if he did not meet Neve as she had instructed, she would be angry. Very angry. Then it would not be hard to find Savos if one knew where to look.

So Savos was back at the sundial circle, this time with a bag over his shoulder and a bow and quiver on his back. His eyes were starting to fight him as he waited, insisting that a nap on that bench was clearly the best course of action. Before they could win their little battle, however, Neve arrived at the meet spot. She held a spear in her hand, and looked even more barbaric now that her imposing figure was illuminated by the rising sun. She said nothing as she arrived, and neither did Savos as they headed for the city limits.

[Savos]

The first trail outside of the city was well traveled and easy to walk. Savos admired the thousands overlapping footstep tracks, constantly being covered by different mountain grasses and flowers that grew so wildly in the region.

“How well do you know how to use that bow?” Neve asked. Her voice was terse, still holding Savos in deep judgment for their previous argument.

“...Barely. I used to do target practice as a kid.”
“Target practice is not hunting. Hit that tree over there. The one with the leaning trunk.”

She pointed, he saw. It was probably a good twenty meters away, which wasn't impossible but still sent fear through Savos' heart. He was quite sure he would not be able to do it. But Neve's voice suggested that it was more of an order than a request. She wanted to evaluate his competence. He felt already that she would be sorely disappointed.

He took an arrow out of the quiver and cocked it into the bow. Even this was measly, for he fumbled around with it as he tried to remember the proper way to grip it. Then he straightened his back, pointed the bow in the general direction of the tree. Posture, all about posture, he repeated in his head, remembering his childhood teachings. He drew the string back, all his strength invested into stretching it as much as possible. He had forgotten how much he enjoyed feeling the tension in the string. Such a simple invention could store raw energy like this, readying itself to release itself into one strong burst.

After a few seconds aiming, the arrow shot through the air, threatening to pierce anything that stood in its way. It shot right at the trunk that Neve had pointed at, but too high. It flew through the branches, and flopped lamely to the ground after being slowed by the foliage. Savos had overestimated the effect that gravity would have on its trajectory. When he was younger, the problem was always the opposite, since as a child he always too weak to draw the string back to its full potential. Now he was strong, and the force that the arrow was shot with was probably double to his efforts as a child.

Neve said nothing except for a loud 'tsk' sound. Embarrassed about his shot, he insisted that it would not take long for him to fetch the arrow and would be back on the path in no time. She shook her head.

“No need to get back on the path. All these human footprints are distracting. We must get off the trail in order to properly track our prey.”

Savos did not disagree with her train of thinking, but was terrified to leave the path. The path made him comfortable, for humans had been there and assured that it was safe. Leaving it would mean that if there was a danger in these peaks that neither Neve or Savos knew about, they might be walking right into it. Despite his worries, he did not argue the point with Neve.

They retrieved the arrow and continued along. Their progress was slower than on the trail, having to circumnavigate the plant-life and now having to deal with the slope of the mountain. It was not so steep here, but the trail had been a flat path as opposed to this new terrain. Savos was not completely new to this, as his home in Denval was also just as embedded in the mountains as the rest of Kalea. Even so, he had not had much practice and stumbled through, never knowing where the safest place to put his foot was and putting his hand around trees for safety. Neve, on the other hand, was quick and agile. She used the momentum that the downward slope gave her to hop nimbly from spot to spot, picking all the areas where the dirt and rock were solidly in place. Savos struggled to keep up.

They reached a small valley that threatened to climb back up to the next peak, and Neve stopped.

“We will continue downwards when we can, and travel facing the breeze. These peaks are likely too high to find much good game, so we will go lower. As we go along, I want you to look out for tracks.”

“Tracks. Right,” Savos said, and he imagined obvious things like footprints, or … footprints.

“Right. Um. What am I looking for?"

Neve put a hand over her face in obvious exasperation. She was already beginning to regret taking it upon herself to teach this fool. In Taloba, even the youngest of children knew something like this. Whatever did the humans spend their time learning?

“broken branches, eaten leaves, fur. Feces and burrows, ” she started her list as though she was trying to move through the 'lesson' as quickly as possible. She was not the most patient teacher.

“Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open. Animals have patterns just like us. They look for water and food, and here in the mountains they search for solid ground just as much as we do. Flatter areas will be our best bet. We'll head toward the river as we descend.”

Savos nodded his head attentively, and they continued their trek through the wilds with attention and care.

[Savos]

Midday approached and they were still hiking. Progress was slow in the dangerous terrain, and Savos was almost constantly in fear of suffering a bad fall. Going downhill was not easy, and he slipped several times, with scrapes and bruises at every turn. Neve took much more time to grow tired than he did, her endurance hardened by experience. Fatigue eventually reached her when the sun was high in the air, and she guided Savos to the shade of some trees to allow him some rest.

He was panting as he sat down on a large boulder and watched Neve pace around as though she was looking for something. It was now that he remembered that he hadn't eaten anything since early the previous night, and he was starving. He was incredibly tempted to use this break as time to eat some food he had packed in his bag, but he feared Neve would somehow judge him for doing that.

She finally stopped her pacing when she saw a tree branch that was at the height of her waist and about two meters long. She grabbed it with both hands and readied herself to kick it at the base. Savos was surprised that she was trying, convinced that even a warrior woman like her could not break such a branch without some sort of saw or axe.

Then he heard the definite crack of tree bits breaking, and the sound rang through the mountain like the distant roar of thunder. The thing had broken, but was not completely severed, so she dug her spear into the crack and used it as a lever to pull apart the rest of the branch. Savos wondered if he had overestimated the strength of the tree or underestimated Neve's raw power. He suspected the latter.

“What are you doing?” he finally asked as she dragged the branch back to he was, his stomach growling. She sat down next to him and pulled a long coil of wire out of her sack.

“Constructing a trap. If we aren't successful with the hunt, we can at least hope for a few squirrels for dinner.” She cut off a length of wire and started coiling it around the branch. She then created another loop at the end of the wire, leaving some distance between it and the branch.

“... How does it work?”
“You lean this on a tree like that one over there,” She pointed a small ways away from them at one of the bigger trees. There were squirrels scampering all around the area, some stopping to stare at Savos and Neve before returning to their daily duties.

“Squirrel runs up the branch, gets caught in the loop and falls. It usually gets strangled.” Savos winced. He was never comfortable with the idea of dying by lack of air, be it drowning or strangulation. Even for a squirrel, it was dark. But the trap itself was very interesting, as it didn't seem to take much effort on Neve's part, in terms of resources and energy. He watched her curiously, but she stopped when she saw him staring.

“Here, take a wire and help me out. We'll make four of these and put it against that tree before we move out.” She was curt as always, but there was some appreciation in her voice. She appeared glad that Savos was actually taking an interest in what she was doing instead of whining about why they hadn't killed anything yet. When she hunted with beginner children in Taloba, they were always dreadfully impatient.

They finished making the trap, and Neve explained the optimal distances and tips on creating the loops so that the squirrels would have no chance of escaping. They carried the branch over to the tree and the squirrels scattered upon their arrival. They leaned it on a deep groove in the tree so that nothing could cause it to roll away, and left it there. Savos regretted not having mentioned anything about food as they departed again.

[Savos]

Whenever Savos could take his focus off the ground in front of him, he would strain his eyes around him, searching desperately for any kind of evidence of game nearby. It was disheartening to fathom that within all this chaos of earth and flora were the most minute details that could lead their way. They probably had already missed tons of signs, and Savos spent the bulk of his time repeating the list of things to look for inside of his head.

Finally, when he was almost ready to tell Neve that this search was hopeless and they might as well head back now, he found something. He stopped and wandered off their path to examine a tree that had many leaves that had been eaten, and once Savos got close enough for detailed inspection, he observed a chunk of white fur. He was grateful that in the summer, animals tended to shed more than usual.

Neve was initially outraged that Savos would stop following her without telling her so, but understood his reasons once she approached. She seemed somewhat impressed that he had seen the tracks before she did, and quite a ways away from where they were walking.

“Speak quietly from here on out, and only when you have to. Use a lighter step, you sound like a boar in these woods,” she said, speaking at a much lower tone than usual. She hesitated as she turned away, then added,

“<Good eye.>” She said it in Myrian, and Savos could not understand her words. “Maybe you are not as useless as I imagined.” A smirk formed on her face and they began to follow the general direction of the tracks. Savos would have asked what she had said in Myrian, and it had a tone of praise, but her follow up to it left him too vexed to ask.

As they went on, Neve explained that the fur was likely that of a mountain deer. They were plentiful in the lower regions of lhavit, as the mountains of Kalea were less harsh and uninhabitable closer to the ocean. They were likely to travel in large herds, so it might not be so difficult to pick a young or weak one out of the herd and get an easy catch.

And then the trees stopped to make way for a cliff. Lying at the bottom of the drop was a large valley, full of grass and life. Among the bushes and the trees of the gorge were many herds of mountain deer, feasting on the summer's wealth of food and warmth. Savos momentarily forgot the pain in his feet and hands and felt the winds that rolled smoothly over the little paradise.

“We took a wrong turn while following the path,” Neve said without an ounce of fascination in her voice, “The deer couldn't have gotten down from here. We'll double back and search for a good vantage point to get close to them.”

Savos sighed, remembering slowly that he was actually here to kill something. He wasn't too keen on seeing one of those poor deer lying lifeless on the ground, dragged back to Lhavit as a token of victory of the hunt. He followed Neve through the trees, and her steps were deadly quiet now. He tried to imitate her, but he still lumbered on with clumsy difficulty.

They finally found a kinder slope in which they could descend through the cover of trees. Savos could see the little deer now, and though they were still far away, stealth would be the only way to get close enough for a shot. Neve put a finger to her mouth, stressing the importance of not making a sound.

The slope was not stable however. It was not much less arduous than the cliff had been, and Savos found the roots and trunks of trees were the best place to put his feet for optimal balance. Neve understood this too, and went through a dense patch of trees to maximize the efficiency of the technique.

They were descending at about the same pace, though Neve waited often for Savos to catch up. Then, one of the deer perked up its ears and stared right in their direction. They had the trees and bushes for cover, but Savos held his breath in fear that the animal had detected them. It lost interest and returned to chomping on its berry bush. Neve crept over as close as she could to Savos, and whispered,

“We can't get any closer, not enough cover. At this distance, your bow has a better chance than my spear.”

Savos realized with dread what she was implying. He had expected this hunt to be a joint operation, mostly run by Neve with Savos on the side. Now, at the pinnacle moment of snatching their kill, Neve was dumping the entirety of the responsibility on him. She noticed his anxiety and said,

“You want to aim for the body. A clear shot through an organ will kill it immediately or bleed it to death. You see the one closest to us?” Savos nodded. “It's totally oblivious to us right now, the wind is against us so it can't smell us. Be patient, do not rush your shot. If it wanders around a little, don't let it bother you. Breathe.” Neve climbed to a higher tree to allow Savos some space to take his shot. She looked at him expectantly.

The pressure would have been too much to handle if Savos didn't have worse to worry about. Taking his usual stance on a slope like this was impossible. He spread his legs, constantly changed his footing to stabilize himself as much as possible. His left foot rested on the trunk of the tree. He grabbed his bow and an arrow and placed the notch along the arrow string. He stretched the string to its limit, pulling back all the way to his chin.

Breathe. Aim. He repeated in his head. The deer was slightly closer than the tree Neve had pointed out at the beginning of the venture. He had to take into account the mistake he made on that first shot, overestimating gravity and underestimating the power of his shot. But the slope he was on meant the trajectory of his arrow would be nothing like shooting a target on a flat field. The uneven rock and trees disoriented him, confused his sense of perspective. It was a visual cacophony of elements that could disrupt his aim and ruin the shot.

Breathe. Aim. His arms strained under the pressure of holding the string back as he readjusted the position of the bow ever so slightly, again and again. The deer was calmly eating grass. Then in a jerking motion, the animal rose its head, and Savos took the shot.

It found its mark, like a deadly viper shooting through the air with expert precision. But Savos had missed. He had aimed for the beast's heart, and the end result was an arrow lodged right through the deer's jaw. The thing shrieked and ran off in a panic, alerting the rest of its herd. They all scattered away from Savos and Neve, disappeared through trees or into the valley. The deer he had shot was gone, along with his arrow.

[Savos]

They climbed back up in silence, and only spoke when they reached flatter ground.

“I saw which direction it went in. We can-”
“No point. The deer are faster than us and they scatter at night. Plus, that deer will probably take more than a few days to die.”

Savos was crestfallen at this comment. All he could think of was that poor animal having to walk around with that wound, dying ever so slowly. And there would be no point to it all, no one even benefiting from the food it could have offered.

“The wound won't kill it. But you broke its jaw and it'll die of starvation.” The news did nothing to reassure Savos, but Neve's tone was not mean spirited. She simply stated the facts as they were, without yelling down his ear about having missed missed his target twice today, the second one fatal. It was clear to them both that the hunt was over, and Neve started back the way they had come. Savos tried to find landmarks that showed their previous passage through the steep woods, but was absolutely clueless, relying entirely on Neve to guide him.

Climbing back up was less risky than descending, but took an enormous willpower that Savos didn't have. Tired, hungry, Savos was beginning to lose his resolve, bit by bit. His weariness only reinforced the bottomless pit of guilt he buried himself in for murdering that deer. He slowed down visibly, and Neve often urged him on to speed up, exasperated with his lack of stamina.

They got back to the place where they had left their trap, where two squirrels hung lifeless within its snares. Neve took the squirrels off the branch and tied the wires together to sling them over her shoulder. She retrieved the remaining unused wires and left the branch as it was.

“At least we got something from this,” she muttered as they went along. Savos said nothing, only staring at the dead little animals with a look of sorrow and bitterness. Neve was not oblivious to how despondent he was. She decided to try and do something about it.

“Do you know about the goddess Dira?” Savos was surprised at the question. During the whole trip, Neve had been rather terse, only speaking to him when necessary and never initiating any real conversation of her own.

“By name, nothing more.”
“Dira guides souls to their god's realm in the afterlife. It is known that death comes to everything living, and Dira knows that more than anyone. There would be nothing beautiful and sacred about life without it.”

Savos couldn't disagree with that, but he did not believe that he could wrap his mind around the concept of death like that. It required too much apathy on his part, an emotion that was too foreign for him to control. Neve felt his judgment, so she ventured into making an assumption on Savos' character.

“You may not have grown up in Falyndar, but the humans hunt too. You could have learned to survive out here, but you did not, because you believe that hunting is murder.”

Savos said nothing, but his lack of reply was just as good as saying yes. The hunt had sunk him into a grim mood, not just because of its failure. It was because of the death that this hostile land created, all the misery that was caused by the harsh environment he lived in. The hunt was simply a bleak reminder of that.

“Murder is unnecessary violence. When someone kills without cause or reason, or commits atrocity against their family, that is murder. The hunt is not that way. It is necessary for life and sustenance. A sheep dies so that a family can be fed. That is the hunter's way.”

“That deer isn't going to feed anyone,” he finally replied, almost under his breath.

“Yes, that deer has been murdered.” She did not sugarcoat it in any way, blunt as ever to the dismay of Savos, who had a small glimmer of hope that she might attempt to say something more comforting.

“But that is also simply the nature of death. Dira knows that death will always come sooner or later, and a lot of the time, there is no rhyme or reason to it. The quicker you accept that, the quicker you can wield that knowledge in favor of your own survival.”

It was a grisly truth, and Savos hated that Neve made a good point. It explained a lot about the Myrian psychology, how warfare to them was simply their way of surviving. He had never thought of death as a force of nature like everything else around him. Nature, to him, always implied life, the living. But it was clear, especially here in the wilderness, that this was far from the truth.

[Savos]

The sun was beginning to set, and they had not yet found their original trail. It was taking longer than Savos expected. Even though he did not know the path they had taken as well as Neve did, he suspected seeing certain rock formations and groves that he had not seen before. At one point, they walked through a small trickling creek, and Savos was sure he had not seen that before.

“Neve? Have we been through here before?” Savos asked.
“No.”

This sent a mild flash of panic through Savos' heart. Right now, the only thing that was keeping his legs moving forward was the idea that he might make it home without collapsing. All he could think of was his bed, of the food that a stall owner sold not too far from his apartment. His mouth watered at the very thought, his eyes were ready to invite darkness.

“Wait, you don't know where we're going?” He tried to sound nonchalant, but the strain in his voice was clear as day.
“Of course I know where we're going,” Neve spat, clearly offended by the assumption that they were lost.
“Idiot. It is impossible to be lost when there are no clouds in the sky. The suns and the stars will guide you. Look up, look up. The sun always sets in the west. I hope you are not so daft that you do not know this.”

Savos remembered why he had let his previous doubts slide without asking questions. The weariness he felt was whittling his ability to filter his thoughts from his words.

“Yes, I know,” he said reluctantly.
“Then you will have seen that we have been traveling south-west all day. We simply have to go northwest, and we will find the path again, albeit a somewhat different location. Learn to orient yourself.” She left it at that and walked further ahead of Savos where he could not ask her stupid questions so easily.

Neve was not entirely correct about this, however. Eventually the two came upon a cliff face that would be virtually impossible to climb, and much too dangerous to try even if they were very good at climbing. So they went around to the nearest passage. There was a valuable lesson in this. No matter how hardy Neve was, the mountain was more stubborn than her. There are not a thousand ways to go through mountain terrain, and both Savos and Neve learned that the hard way.

The detour caused dusk to come and go before they could find the path, and now Savos and Neve were navigating in darkness. Savos said nothing regarding Neve's navigational mistake, but he wished desperately to allow himself some immaturity for a moment and shove it in her face. But that was childish, he knew, and his main priority right now was to get home. This implied not making an enemy of his only guide. Neve checked the stars frequently to make sure they were going the right way, but she did not seem nearly as worried about reaching her destination as Savos was. To her, getting back up to Lhavit in one day was an option. She was not scared of the Misty Peaks' infinite number of dangers.

The moon was a tiny sliver in the sky, and visibility was low. Savos always looked up, hoping to get a glance at Lhavit in the distance, glowing against the mountainside with promise of warmth and safety. But the rock and the trees blocked any view or sign of the celestial paradise, and Savos was left in the dark.

He was ready to give up, he really was. Every collection of moss and rock looked like a great place to lie down and sleep. Luckily, the ground he was navigating was growing flatter (relative to their previous path) and he felt soil take the place of harsh, jagged rock. Trees were growing denser and denser as they went along, and though the softness of the flora was a welcome gift, they were blocking out the little light they had from the stars.

Soon Savos could see nothing but a strange eerie blue glow slipping through the cracks in the trees. He could barely use his eyes, relying on his hands and feet to feel his way, reassured only by the silhouettes of trees in from of him that proved the ground did not drop suddenly, as it so often did in the peaks. He could hear Neve's footsteps in front of him. She had also slowed down considerably.

They were both drawn by the blue light, inching their way deeper into the woods. Then the line of trees broke and light returned anew, in the shape of a lake's reflection. Though Leth was dim on this night, these waters seemed to return his light tenfold. Savos was glad that his eyes were of use to him again, and looked around in fascination at the strange location. The water was as still as the rock of Kalea, unmoved by any animal, plant or wind. It looked more like a sheet of skyglass than any natural waters he had seen.

Around the lake were inviting patches of grass and rock, with fadeong trees surrounding the area like silent guardians. This place, strangely enough, seemed somehow safe from all the dangers that lurked in the rest of the mountains.

[Savos]

What made Savos the happiest was seeing a path in front of him, clearly created by the footfalls of man. It would return them to Lhavit, safe and sound. He could suddenly feel a burst of energy from the mere thought, motivation that home was finally not just a distant dream. He walked over to Neve and pointed at the path.

“We can finally get back,” he said eagerly, “That path leads right to Lhavit, I'm sure of it.”

Neve did not seem concerned by the path. She was staring at the deep waters of the lake, mesmerized by its infinite depth. For a moment, she seemed to completely ignore Savos, but eventually did turn and direct her attention towards him.

“No, it's too dangerous to walk at night. I've been looking for an appropriate place to set up camp since dusk, and this seems to be it.”

Savos looked at her in disbelief. Neve had dragged him around these peaks all day, not once showing any sign of slowing or even caring about the very concept of rest. And now, now that they were deadly close to a proper bed and proper food, she wanted to stop.

“What? Why? We're probably not even an a bell away now-”
“You are not sure of that, and I say it is too dangerous. We should have stopped earlier, but I was also hoping we could be back at dusk. This terrain is a risk without eyes, and things hunt at night. We will stay here and return in the morning. I can teach you how to build a fire-”

“But we're close! I can feel it, I know we're close.” Savos was beginning to lose his edge now, beginning to lose the patience that he usually functioned with. His current reasoning was that he had been thinking about his little bed all day, and he wasn't about to sleep out in the cold when he was so close to it.

His crummy logic had also not taken into account that Neve was not exactly the caring sort. To her, a bed made of a warm fire and a cloak was just as good as a palace suite. She saw that Savos was tired, and understood that it made him act unreasonably, but she didn't really give a damn.

“Gut feeling doesn't get you anywhere, stupid child. In the wilderness, you keep a clear head, or you die. Now pull yourself together and help me collect wood for a fire.”

“I'm not a child,” he said, and his voice was full of exasperation. Neve grinned at this comment, for this was the first time today that Savos defended himself against the myriad of insults she had hurled at him. He was stupid for doing it, of course, but she admired his audacity.

“Perhaps,” she said musingly. It surprised Savos that she did not reply with her usual anger. “Perhaps not. The way I see it, you have nothing to prove it. Where are your tattoos to mark your accomplishments in this world? No bones, no scars to show your victory over others? You are as bare as a naked baby, you have done nothing to prove your worth as a man, or a Myrian.”

Her words were as cold as the bottom of the lake they stood by, and cut through the silence with chilling accuracy. It was hard for him to chew her words of hurt, words meant to wound his very identity. The ache he felt was at first one of dejection, but he could feel something happening at the pit of his stomach. It felt like a burn in his heart, as though the hurt he felt was experiencing a chemical reaction within him, transforming itself into resentment, resentment toward Neve.

How dare she impose her personal beliefs on him like this? A day ago, he had not even known of her existence. Now she was here, dragging him through peril and insulting him as she went along, as though she had as much control over his life as Leth above him did. She could not make him go to Taloba. She could not transform his entire personality to mirror the ideals of her people. And he was tired of her trying.

“You know, I'm starting to think about something strange,” Savos started slowly, “You believe that Taloba is the rightful place for any Myrian to be. Even I somehow belong there, who is by all of your standards, an abject failure. Yet here you are, parading around Lhavit, so very far away from home. I wonder what made you leave?”

A flash of anger dashed through Neve's black eyes. He could see that he had overstepped his bounds with his demeaning assumptions, but he was past caring. Neve laughed incredulously, as though she was impressed that Savos had some bite to his words.

“Ah, not always so polite and careful, Are you? At least you have not entirely lost the fervor of a proper Myrian. Perhaps you are not so hopeless.”
“I don't care about about this “proper Myrian” crap anymore! You confirmed it for me today that I might as well stop considering myself one. I can pass for human, anyway.”
“Rejecting what is in your blood will only do you harm. Myri herself would curse you as a traitor and a coward if she heard your pitiful words.”
“Does it look like I give a damn what Myri thinks? She might be your god, but she is not mine.”

Again Savos hit the mark, igniting flames through Neve's heart.

“You don't know your place, Savos. Discipline is yet another staple of our society that you very obviously lack.”

She dropped her spear onto the ground, and walked up to Savos with menace in her eye. He knew very well that she did not need that spear to kill him. It took all his resolve to stay where he was, as unwavering as he could muster in the face of her glare.

“You speak dangerous words, words meant to hurt and defy me and mine. But words are nothing to me. When you challenge a Myrian, you do not challenge them to a battle of wits and song. You have challenged me to a fight. So hit me.”

Savos stared at her in disbelief. Was she serious? He had no chance against her, and they both knew it.

“I'm not going to-”
“Don't be so spineless!” Her voice was a roar in the little glade, yet strangely, felt muted and far away. She pushed Savos backwards, with such force that it took all of his energy to stay on his feet and not fall on his ass.

“If you have any care for your survival, defend yourself! If you don't, I will not stop after a few bruises. I will stop when I cave your head in with a boulder.”

Lights flashed red in Savos' eyes, and he could see a clear vision of his body lying lifeless on this lonely mountain. Neve was more dangerous than any monster lurking in these woods, and he did not want to die. Blindly, he lunged at Neve, with a faraway hope that she might at least give him the satisfaction of one hit.

She was not so merciful. She dodged the predictable attack easily, grabbed Savos' shoulder and punched him in the chest. He couldn't breathe for a moment and fell back, but before he could land, she pulled him back up by the arm and twisted it behind his back. Locked in her grasp, Savos could do nothing as she pressured it to the point that the bone threatened to break. Then, she released the twist ever so slightly.

“<I'm very tempted to cut you open and let you bleed to death on this mountain, but you fought back, so I will respect that. It is only your Myrian blood that spares you.>” Her strange tongue was completely foreign to Savos, who could only think about the burning pain in his arm, and how he might die tonight.

“Here, a cold bath will surely help to clear your dim head,” Neve said with a grin. She let go of Savos' arm, but before he could recollect himself, she dragged him over to the edge of the lake, pulled all of her weight into her arm's momentum, and catapulted him expertly into the lake's chilling embrace.