Closed Passengers (Azira and possibly Khara)

[Azira]

Her bow was unstrung, the weapon placed in her pack along with her quiver of arrows. It was a tight squeeze and once closed some of the bow was still left sticking out of the top of the pack. It wasn't perfect but it'd do fine as long as she kept an eye on it. The eagle didn't have bags attached to her saddle for stashing equipment as Lavira's mount, Mohya had done but the huntress was sure that she could contrive some way to keep a hold of it.

Khara allowed her to climb on ahead of her, apparently unable to secure herself until the Avora was in place and so Azira brought her pack with her to the saddle. The bag was placed on her lap and hugged close to her chest as she strapped herself in. It was a tight squeeze with the bag partly held in place the same way that Azira was but at least both of them would be safe. Remembering Turrin's eagle riding tips, the huntress adjusted the pack so she would still have enough freedom of movement to lean into turns and stay in the saddle during a dive. As soon as both herself and Khara were secure, the huntress murmured a warning to the Chiet behind her. "You grab me during this flight and by the gods you regret it, understand?" An amber eye flashed over her shoulder as she drove her warning home before turning frontwards again to concentrate on Sira's movements.

She felt like a total idiot for not realising who the bird was until so late a moment.

As the raptor began to totter about the place the Avora prepared herself for the flight to come. Even with the straps to hold her in place, she wasn't going to throw all caution to the wind and so she maintained a firm grip on her ride to be on the safe side. There was no point putting unnecessary strain on the straps although she was sure that they were strong enough to hold her there except under abnormal circumstances. Her hands went to the sides of the saddle and held it in a firm grip but one that was comfortable enough so that they wouldn't cramp if they had a long flight. Her thighs gripped the saddle, legs moulding to the contours of it in a firm but gentle way. She didn't want her legs seizing although they were bound to be stiff by the time they were done anyway.

She was glad of her precautions when the Wind Eagle dropped from the Aerie's ledge. She'd experienced the same rush upon Turrin's eagle, Aponivi but unlike him, Sira seemed to have no intentions of pulling up. With wings folded back the raptor flew downwards like an arrow, the wind driven upwards to batter the girls on her back. It was pulling back against them, trying to tear them from their perch but they were held in place fast. Clutching the sides of the saddle the huntress fought the pull of the wind, straining to lean forward and to keep her head down as low as she could, chin resting on the top of her pack.

When impact seemed imminent the Kelvic pulled up, flying straight over the valley and over a number of geysers. The puffs of warm air that reached the Avora in her position and the effect they had on Sira was enough to clue her in to what the bird was doing. She was using the warm air to gain height without having to do more work than simply hold her wings open. Clever bird.

Their flight became smoother and more level as they headed - the huntress orientated herself by using Syna - northwards. Heights didn't bother the small Avora and so she found herself peering over the bird's wings to get views of the ground below. The eagle banked one way or another from time to time, probably to take advantage of an air current but it gave Azira an unrivalled and breathtaking view of the landscape beneath them. Flying by eagle never got old.

It wasn't all that long before the eagle began to circle over a spot and make her descent. The teen searched below them as they drew nearer and nearer to the ground wondering if they'd reached their destination or were making a stop off. As they became lower the camp came into view and she realised that this was indeed their destination. It was one of the Endal forward camps, the little huts built for the use of hunters who wanted to hunt the area. There wasn't much opportunity to look around once they landed because as soon as the Kelvic's feet touched down the saddle lurched, sliding rapidly backwards as the bird beneath it vanished. Their seat hit the ground with an thud that left Azira's bones rattling as she sat blinking in the cloud of dust.

She was set coughing as she inhaled some of the stuff but she managed to unfreeze and begin working loose the straps that were holding her in place. Sira's words had her head darting up as her chilled fingers kept working, a smile of amusement the only thing that clothed the woman. Her brain was no longer working on full power, a little bit distracted by the turn of events and so her mouth took on a life all of its own.

"Bit of a turbulent landing but overall it was worth the lovely view," she responded simply. And where were you staring when you said that last part? her brain butted in as her eyes continued to rest on the entirety of the other woman's form rather than her face. She shrugged, gaze dropping as if she needed to focus on a particularly troublesome buckle. She hadn't meant it like that. It had just been a comment on the scenery...

No, it wasn't. Don't lie.

As long as she didn't blush it'd be fine then her words couldn't be seen as anything other than being perfectly innocent. So what if her cheeks were a bit flushed? It was from the flight, it didn't signify anything.

Nari | Common

Template courtesy of Khara

[Khara]

There were no words. None that would have actually meant anything or accurately reflected how she had felt. Terror was a good place to start, Khara supposed. That sudden dive out of the Aerie after she had finished securing the rope and had wrapped the last remaining lengths of rope around her arms for good measure had surely stopped the Chiet's heart and drove the breath from her lungs. But as the Eagle had leveled out and the ride became far smoother, Khara had come to realize that when everything within her body started feeling like it was working again and her heart was pounding so hard in her chest she thought it might burst, it wasn't a grimace or a cringe that had taken over her features but instead a grin had placed itself on her lips and refused to leave. The views had been nothing short of awe-inspiring, even if the height was somewhat dizzying. All the while her mind raced with the single thought, I'm actually doing it. I'm riding a Wind Eagle!

Adrenaline and pure joy made the trip seem far shorter than it had been, but still a sense of wonder clung to the girl as they had begun to descend... That was, until the last instant when the Eagle below them vanished and whatever pretext of a soft landing that was expected suddenly was jolted out of her. Azira was the first to recover and left the Chiet attempting to untangle herself from the various winds and knots of the rope. It was only the fact that they were back on the ground that let Khara realize how cold her arms, face, stomach and other exposed skin had become. Even the red marks where the rope had wound around her arms or thin coating of dust that covered her couldn't bring her spirits down, though. They were still high above, left in the clouds where the trio had been soaring only moments before.

Turning towards where the Endal, now a woman, stood, Khara was a bit taken aback by her appearance. Not because of lack of clothing, but simply that somehow despite knowing what must have taken place, suddenly hearing the voice that had once been in her mind now coming from the woman watching them with amusement simply refused to process. Her dry lips cracked open to respond to Sira's question when it was the Avora who spoke first. That was fine, that was good that was... not how she had expected Azira to answer. Not that Khara exactly knew how to respond, either.

Not staring would be a good place to start, the thought suddenly sprung into her head and the Chiet quickly averted her eyes towards the ground, towards her gear, towards her hands whose fingertips had taken on the slightest of blue tinges to them from the chill air.

"Thank you, Endal Sira. It was..." Khara spoke softly, pausing as she tried to fight for the right word but they all failed her. "Amazing."

Her hands wrung each other, not entirely out of a desire to regain full feeling in them, but only for a tick or two before Khara quickly moved on, her bag picked up, straps reslung over her shoulders before she set about re-securing her other equipment. She felt foolish for saying anything at all, but the Endal had asked, hadn't she? Maybe it was a question only meant for the other huntress. Maybe the game scout should have remained silent. Too many maybes and too late to take it back anyway, the always ever present snide internal dialog chirped up again.

Right, Khara decided. No more talking. For the time being she decided it was best to at least somewhat attempt to tidy up the rope that had come undone as she had wriggled loose of it. She was out of her element here. Sure, Azira found uses for her when it was just the two of them, but with an Endal among them? Surely whatever skills the Chiet had would be laughable to one such as her. Still, the Avora had brought her along when she easily could have sent Khara back. If nothing else she would do as the two told her and hopefully even pick up on a few things from observing them during the hunt.

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

[Sira]

Sira grinned at their responses, and then went to retrieve her bag, which she had dropped just before their landing. Inside she found her clothing, which she put on, her talon sword, her bow and arrows, a waterskin, and a days worth of trail rations for a snack in case she got hungry. As she dressed she considered her two partners. They were both a bit shy, Azira less so, but Khara especially. Sira didn't like that. Well.. shy could be endearing at times, but Sira did not want to spend the entire trip in silence. Her games as a wind eagle were over for the time being, but it was time to lay down the rules. After she was dressed she turned back to the pair.

"Alright, it's time to lay down some ground rules. I know I'm an Endal, and a wind eagle. That's great. But out here, none of that matters. Out here, we are hunters. We work together, as equals. That has always been my rule. I can't have you being silent when you might know something that could keep us alive. I can't have you being afraid to do something that might make this trip worth it because you were to afraid to ask permission."

Sira shot a pointed look at Khara before continuing.

"From now on, speak your mind. If you have something to say, I want to hear it. This is not the Sanikas River Valley. This is not Wind Reach. This is the Unforgiving. It's been two years since the djed storm, but their are still monsters out here. The valley is safer, but out here we don't patrol or keep watch. The monsters run free."

Sira strapped on her talon sword, wiggling it in it's sheath to make sure their was no frost that would hinder her if she actually needed it. Then she slung her quiver over her back and continued.

"So.. have either of you ever been this far from the city? Or is your experience just limited to the land between Wind Reach and Thunder Bay?"

[Azira]

The scout seemed to have trouble finding words to say but at least what came out of her mouth couldn't have any possible double meanings. The Endal didn't make any comment on either of them, just grinned at them before she went off to get dressed. Azira finished unstrapping herself from the saddle, stiff legs stretched and warmed up before she sorted her gear out again. Her short bow was taken out of her pack and restrung and the quiver restored to its normal place on her back. Khara was never given as much as a cursory glance, the huntress not caring about what she was doing.

She was finished getting ready before Sira was but the Kelvic didn't keep them waiting long. Well they were still going to have a third pair of hands at least and wings too though not at the same time. If the woman was going hunting with them then the Avora would have expected her to assert some control because of her superior rank. Azira had hunted with other Endal before and while they hadn't belittled her, it had still been very clear who was in charge. This one believed in equality but she wouldn't believe that until she saw the woman in action. Once her values were tested then she would know if the eagle would really hold Azira at the same rank as herself.

A glance was shot Khara's way the same time as Sira but for different reasons. The enforced silence was partly her own fault. It had been a condition of hers that the Chiet remain silent on their hunts unless she had something valuable to offer or had permission to speak. Sira was removing it although she had no idea. If the Chiet got over her caution of speaking to the higher caste members then she was probably just going to natter on for most of the trip. How wonderful! Working with the Chiet was something that the huntress could bear though. They'd done it before after all, the moose hunt being a prime example of teamwork and during that hunt Khara's rank in Wind Reach society had been temporarily waived for at least part of the time. That'd be fine.

She suppressed an eye roll at the talk of monsters. Of course she knew that they were out here. There were plenty of dangers even in the valley and the Unforgiving obviously had more. It was wilder, less frequented and it hadn't gotten its name for nothing. She could have spoken her mind as the other asked but she doubted that she wanted cheek from the teen and pissing her off at this early stage would only cause trouble for the rest of the day.

"I have been." The answer came promptly, the Avora trying to get in ahead of the Chiet. "I've been north before, don't know where in relation to here but I've hunted at a lake a bell northwards of the city and I've been to the westernmost Forward Camp." Her gaze met the eagle's briefly before flitting to the Chiet, waiting to see what she would say. The girl wasn't too experienced as far as Azira knew but maybe she'd surprise her by having been out in the Unforgiving before.

Nari | Common

Template courtesy of Khara

[Khara]

Out here, we are hunters. We work together, as equals. Every bit of the Chiet girl seemed to scream in protest to the Endal's words. Sira and Azira? Okay, maybe. But her? Khara wasn't a hunter; she was a Chiet, and barely that in some people's eyes! Still, who was she to argue with an Endal? And when the Kelvic's eyes settled on her, the girl let the instinctual lines she had forged into her head since the day she was declared an adult drop. Well, only as best as she could manage in that moment. A quick glance from the corner of her eye towards Azira reinforced that she'd never be able to think of the three of them as equals no matter how much part of her wished to.

Talk of monsters did little to ease the tension that was building within her. She'd heard stories, sure. Some from eye witnesses and even Orthin had stressed time and time again how dangerous The Unforgiving was and how only the suicidal ever went out past the Valley on their own. Khara hadn't actually seen anything that lived up to the tales, though and with any luck that exact lack of firsthand knowledge would continue.

Azira was the first to reply to the question, giving an answer that didn't entirely surprise the Cheit girl but then both their gazes turned on her, threatening to turn her insides into jelly.

"I have as well," she managed. It didn't sound very confident, though and despite believing they had heard her, she knew she was being far too quiet. Khara took a breath and settled for staring intently at a rock a few paces away from her to avoid meeting the eyes of the other two. "Last Winter, during the famine. I accompanied two hunters and a small group of game scouts. We spent two days in the Unforgiving, but I don't think we were very far out. We never found anything, though and were forced to turn back."

Khara cut herself off before speaking anymore, catching that she was venturing into the realm of unimportant information. She didn't need to mention how miserable the experience had been, how the Chiet who had accompanied the two Avora had all been half starved and had only gone with the promise of extra rations. How one of the game scouts had seemingly lost his mind after the first night, saying how they were all going to die, how they had volunteered only to help thin out the population, that only the Avora were going to make it back to Wind Reach. He was wrong though, all of them had made it back except one. No one had missed his rantings on the return trip.

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

[Sira]

Going on vacationI will be going on vacation tomorrow after work, and don't expect to have much internet access. I will be back Monday evening, so I probably won't post again till then.

"That happened to a lot of us," Sira said quietly in response to Khara's answer. "But this year we will not let that happen. This year we will do better!

The mark on Sira's palm flared a bit at that hopeful remark, and it's power touched each of them just for an instant, granting them a small surge of courage an hope. Sira had little experience in using her mark, but it's power still came at her call, and sometimes when she wasn't even actively calling on it. She wasn't sure how useful it really was, but it did seem to encourage people who were around her when she flared it.

Sira was an observant woman, there was little that she missed, and she did not miss the glances shot between the two when they heard her statement about equality and speaking their mind. That was okay, they were right to doubt. And she did have to admit, despite what she said, if she gave a command, she did expect them to follow it. Assuming they didn't have a better idea, that is. Sira also expected them to speak their mind if they thought her ideas were bad. But all that would have to play out as the day went on.

"So.. Are you guys ready to get started. I don't think anyone has hunted this area in a while, so the game should be plentiful. Hopefully."

[Azira]

So the Chiet had been out in the Unforgiving before. Winter was no pleasant time to hunt but at least near the city it wasn't quite as bad. The Unforgiving lived up to its namesake even more in the winter season and she didn't envy the girl for having been out in it during that period. The reminder of the Famine was not something that she wanted as the very first thing that her mind jumped to when she thought of that time the previous year was the Riots. She did her best to avoid those memories, not wanting to relive what had almost happened to her back then.

Sira's words helped to drag her out of it. The Endal reminded her that there wouldn't be a repeat of what had happened last year, they were going to have enough food this time around. Sure they'd end up on rations at some stage but that always happened but they'd bring in enough meat that that wouldn't be a necessary measure until late in the season. Hope swelled within her, determination accompanying it as the idea became set in her mind. They were going to bring bring meat today and they were going to bring home lots of it. A smile touched her lips, the teen nodding in agreement with the woman's words without fully noticing that she was doing it.

"I'm ready to go whenever you are," the huntress chimed in, looking to Khara with a raised brow. "You recovered from our crash landing yet? Think we'll do better this time if we come across any moose, what do you think?" She laughed at the memory before stepping forward towards Sira. The Avora glanced around, trying to decide on a direction that they should head in. The eagle's saddle was fine where it was in the middle of the Forward Camp. They weren't going to lose it that was for sure so they didn't have to worry about it. Aside from the saddle and the facilities of the camp, there wasn't anything that caught her eye. They could probably decide on any direction that they liked and it wouldn't make any difference. The Endal hadn't suggested where they should go so could Azira just pick somewhere?

Her eyes fell on Khara.

Of course they had the game scout! She could check around a bit and see if any path looked particularly promising. "If the camp hasn't been used in awhile then the game has probably been sniffing around the place. Khara? You wanna see if you can pick any signs up for us? Might give us an idea where to start." Her gaze flicked to Sira. "I take it you don't have a problem with that? She's a game scout, she knows what she's doing." Azira wasn't sure that anyone had actually pointed out what the Chiet did so she thought it best to bring it to the Endal's attention. At least that way she knew what resources she had at her disposal if she hadn't already known.

Nari | Common

Template courtesy of Khara

[Khara]

The distraught feelings that had been nudging at her suddenly were banished as the light flared from Sira's hand. Khara knew the feeling wasn't entirely natural - or maybe it was depending on how you looked at it - but she wasn't about to over analyze some gift from a god, either. It even made a slight laugh be managed as Azira brought up the incident with the moose. At the time it hadn't been really funny, thrilling certainly; now though it was like a giant cosmic joke had been played as the two teens had beaten all odds last Summer.

She wasn't sure she was ready, honestly, but the phrase ready as I'll ever be certainly applied. Especially when Azira turned the attention back on her. If she hadn't been so caught up in the thrill of flying, the Chiet may have had a mind to actually look over the area as they neared their landing place. She wasn't certain, but surely game trails could have been seen from such a height, even older ones. At least that would have given her some direction to start in. She tracked animals for a living, but that didn't mean she was an expert. Surely the Endal was even better suited for the task, if for nothing else than she had to have possessed immensely sharp vision when she as a Wind Eagle, at least.

But there hadn't been any sort of mock in Azira's voice, in fact her meager skills were even seemingly commended. It threw Khara for a loop for sure to hear such things, but it also promoted something within her that was far more helpful: a new found determination to prove the Avora correct. She knows what she's doing. In that moment there wasn't any option for failure on Khara's part. It wasn't a pressured feeling though, it simply was.

Back to the task at hand, then, even if the Endal didn't voice a favorable opinion. Though given her comments so far, it didn't seem like she would. Khara's gave a firm nod to Azira before letting her eyes begin to scan the campsite. If it was as undisturbed as had been implied, there very well could have been several curious animals that had come through the camp in recent days. There was something gnawing at her memory, trying to surface like the first stubborn sapling in Spring after the weather turned and the ground hadn't fully thawed out. Something about the forward camps...

The elk! The ones that her fellow game scout had talked about only a few days prior. He said they'd been spotted near the northern camps, hadn't he? Orthin had left with an Endal and a few other scouts that day, but Khara hadn't heard about some great hunt with tons of meat resulting from it. Rumors of that sort of thing got around, after all. Maybe they had just been in the wrong area!

It seemed a lot to hope for, but that wasn't a bad thing. "I can definitely take a look around," Khara echoed. "May not be anything right here, but something might have wandered through." She looked back to the Endal for approval and would set off the instant it was given.

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

[Sira]

Sira had no objections toward allowing Khara to start searching for a trail. Sira herself was a bit lacking as far as tracking went. She did not need the skill as much as others. With her combined ability to fly and get an aerial view, her keen eyesight, and her ability to understand the general chatter of birds from the forest canopy, Sira was usually able to hunt her prey without looking at footprints on the ground.

It wasn't as if she undervalued the skill, she thought it was very important actually and envied those who could do it well, but she just did not practice it enough to get any good at it. She would have to keep a close eye on Khara and see if she could learn anything.

In truth Sira was already aware of a large number of animals in the area, though none of them were good for hunting. There were a pair of red squirrels chasing each other in the tree, and Sira could hear all manner of birds chattering around them. Anything could be eaten in a pinch, but Sira was hoping they could find some bigger game to bring home.

"No, go ahead. I'm bad at finding tracks myself, I usually spot things from the sky. If we can't find anything down here I'll go up and see what I can see, but it can be difficult with all these trees."

Sira tilted her head, listening to a group of Phirebirds chattering away nearby. She hated those birds, they were annoying pests, almost as bad as the bugs they ate. But, even annoying birds had their uses, and after a moment Sira nodded to herself.

"Nothing dangerous in the immediate area.. Except for us, that is."

As annoying and stupid as they were, all birds that weren't birds of prey were stupid and all birds of prey that weren't wind eagles were only slightly less stupid, Sira did trust their judgement when it came to things they found frightening. If the birds went quiet, or started muttering unhappily or screeching in fear, then Sira always knew that was a sign of danger and went on guard.

[Azira]

They'd both done the same thing: looked for Sira's approval. Herself and the Chiet had completely different reasons for it obviously. Khara was doing it out of the sense of subservience to the higher castes that had been hammered into her on a daily basis in her work whereas Azira had done it by choice. Of course she could have just told Khara to do it and left it at that but then she would have seemed to have been trying to take charge. If they were to be on equal footing then it was only fair that everyone had a say. Khara would bend over backwards to do anything the huntress suggested, let alone ordered so there was no problem on her end so Sira was the only possible obstacle. She obviously wasn't seeking her approval to do something as a lower caste member did to a higher caste member. That wasn't what this was, not at all.

The Endal had no protestations concerning the plan and so the Avora was left feeling pleased with herself. She had come up with a plan of action first and that seemed to count for something in her own eyes. Her mood was improved further by the admittance on the woman's part that she wasn't very good at tracking. It made the teen feel better about her own lack of knowledge in the field. If an Endal couldn't do it then her inability to do it wasn't as much of a failing on her own part.

"Well I guess you can go and do your thing then, Khara. Let us know if you find anything useful," she told the teen, splitting her attention between the scout at work and the Endal. Azira didn't know what she was supposed to do. It wasn't like she was going to start a conversation with the eagle although that might have been the right thing to do in the situation. She had no desire to talk to the woman and had nothing to talk about anyhow. The teen surveyed the area as she waited for the Chiet to report back. There was nothing exciting about the place. There were trees. There was the Forward Camp laid out in the normal way, huts, stores, that kind of thing. There were signs of an old outdoor fire, a ring of stones and a few old scorched twigs, grass growing in and around it. Far from recent activity so Sira was right, no one had hunted this area in awhile.

The woman's words startled her, lost in her own little world as she had been. The Avora regarded her curiously, trying to figure out how the other had known such a thing. She listened, half expecting to hear some indication of a lack of danger. All she could hear were birds singing away in the trees. She wondered what they talked about all the time with their constant twittering but that wasn't much help to her. It wasn't like they discussed things around them in a way that she could understand but-

Her gaze focused more intently on the Kelvic. She was a bird so could she understand all birds? Did they have different languages depending on the species?

"How do you know that there isn't anything dangerous except us?" she asked, opting for the question least likely to get her laughed at. She wasn't asking the Endal if the birds had told her because if she said it jokingly and it was true she'd seem stupid and if she asked it seriously and was wrong it would have the same result. Better to let Sira tell her herself rather than Azira putting forward ideas that might make her seem a fool.

Nari | Common

Template courtesy of Khara