Closed The worth of your actions [Orin Fenix]

[Clemens Kos]

The 34th of Winter There are always days that break the norm. Somethings happen to change up the usual dull routine one is forced to live through. Unlike most days, Kos managed to get up on that day without much of a problem. No groaning or cursing, nor violent rolls in the bed. Once he managed to open his eyes, he stood up and that was all the ceremony he needed. Some dried rations were waiting for him on the table, which he downed with a flask of water, before taking the crumbs that remained and gave them to Nibbles, his pet rat which happily accepted the seemingly endless sea of goodies. Getting ready was the next thing that followed. And where slipping in his usual leather and cloth outfit didn't really take that long, tightening his metal rembrace did. Good thing he was already used on such, and therefor could do it without watching. As he was walking out of his single room apartment he was renting, he picked up his weapon as well. The halberd didn't really stay at home, much. Wearing his backpack, which was filled with some more rations and his hunting equipment, he decided to walk towards the location of the Bulletin Board. Usually taking a glance on it every day, thinking there would be someone to need help of a hunter in this time of the season. As always, however, his expectations were as low as one can be. Usually finding parchments of something he doesn't even know or understand, this day wasn't quite different, either. Not really much of interest presented himself, or if it did, he simply didn't look hard enough. With a controlled sigh, he tried to find a bench along the road, trying his hardest not to bump into too many people on the way. Luckily, however, most tried to ignore him due to his odd looks. The mask on his face, and the half-shaved head did that to people. Only hair on his face was on the left side, which covered his left eye. And with only one green opticle, he looked around for anything suitable. He did find something, after a moment of looking around and seated himself down. Before he was going to go into the woods, he should probably check on his supplies and prepare himself. Easier to do so here than outside where one is all alone. Setting the backpack to the ground, he openned it and reached for the snares he bought a while ago. His fingers even though gloved, seemed to have enough precision to began unfolding the string that seemingly got tangled every single time one looked away. If anyone would see this man sitting, even though he looked odd, most could guess his profession. Unless he was the world's most boring performer of string untangling, the snares and the rest what is openned backpack contained were a dead give away. Not that he actually minded. After all, not a lot of people approached him due to his visual distaste. His one green eye was focused on the little string, his body seemingly ignoring the weight of the halberd that was currently strapped to his back with leather straps. luckily for him, he was used on carrying it around, so unless he got really tired it wouldn't be keeping him down. An annoyed grunt escaped him, however, as he finally released the snare from it's own trap, beginning to straighten and fold it.

[Orin Fenix]

Orin Fenix Food Equals Love Orin was annoyed and trying not to show it. After spending the morning with Garland, he had finally arrived at work, only to be sent immediately back out again. Apparently, they had run out of meat, something that Orin knew was completely inaccurate since Orin had checked their inventory himself. His boss had probably declared the meat they had ‘unsuitable’ and Orin was beginning to get more than a little angry at the unreasonable standards the food was being held to. Everything had to be absolutely perfect. The seasoning had to be measured completely accurately, the bread had to be brown with not a hint of burnt crust and the steaks had to be seared to perfection. While Orin appreciated good food, he also hated waste. Many dishes were discarded that most people would feel was some of the best food they had ever tasted and it was wearing on Orin’s nerves. So, when Orin had been sent out with coins to ensure that the next batch the hunters brought in was fresh, Orin had seized them with a bad temper. He had marched down to the bulletin board with little to no improvement in his foul mood. If he was supposed to be working as a chef, he wanted to be cooking, not sent on constant supply runs. Although Orin knew that he was probably taking this situation poorly, the new job was starting to wear on his nerves. Arriving at the board, Orin looked around trying to find someone who looked like a hunter. It was crowded, with people hoping for work, but Orin couldn’t see anyone suitable. However, a flash of movement caught the corner of his eye. Turning, he saw a rather unusual looking young man fiddling around with what appeared to be a snare. Hunting equipment was strewn all around him. The man’s appearance gave Orin pause. A mask covered part of his face. His hair was black, and long on one side but almost completely shaved on the other. A halberd was strapped to his back and Orin hoped he knew what he was doing with it. Most people would probably be repulsed by the other man’s looks, but Orin had longer ago decided to judge people on the strength of their character and not on their appearance. Having been the town’s black sheep had left him with a rather jaded view on people. Too many times the cruelest people used their beauty to hide their evil and the ugliest faces had hidden hearts of gold. So while Orin recognized that this person would never be a pretty face, Orin would try him with the same courtesy he gave to everyone else. Approaching the man, Orin cleared his throat shyly. ”Hello there. M’name’s Orin. I was wondering, because well, it looked like you were, sorry what I meant to say is, my boss sent me out because we need more fresh meat for the kitchen. Do you know how to hunt?” Blushing at his awkward tongue, Orin tried a tentative smile and held out his coins. ”I can pay of course.” Orin wanted this whole situation dealt with sooner rather than later and if this man could help him, Orin would be eternally grateful.

[Clemens Kos]

With the amount of people walking by, Kos had thought to himself that maybe big cities weren't for him. He never was a sociable man, so maybe if he would ever get himself enough money he would move away. If not else, out of his little one roomed apartment. Not to say he didn't like it, but he simply thought he could get more. Specially in times like this. Besides, having his own house would be quite handy, as he saw with one his frieds a few days back. His shoulders tipped upward as he held his inner monolouge in peace, somewhat ignoring the happenings around him. That was, until he heard a voice. It seemed closer than most, at first. Just like it was right next to him. As he came to be, he saw a pair of legs infront of him. Rising his head up, and letting his green eye take in the information at hand, those legs seemed to belong to a certain man that approached him. Quite odd, actually, he thought to himself. That was not the usual thing to happen. Without much of a thought, the other man seemingly introduced himself, and Kos' eyebrow was lifted up, somewhat curious on what the meaning of this actually was. Didn't take long for him to speak out about the reason he was here, and it looked like the man needed help. Fresh meat. So he was looking for a hunter, and ready to pay for it. He felt quite lucky all of a sudden, because unlike most times on the bulletin board, there was actually someone that looked for a person with his atributes. Slowly, the half shaved man offered a nod, and spoke out in a somewhat muffed voice, not too deep of a tone. "I'm a hunter, yes. Was just about to head out, too." Kos mentioned to the neatly folded snares on his lap, which he now slowly began to put back in the back backpack, not really wanting to lose anything. After all, it was kind of expensive for his standards. "What kind of meat do you need, though? It's winter, so I hope you wont expect anything too big." Which was true, after all. Small game could be considered plenty, and even that was hidding underground. A deer would also make the cut, and he wondered if he should try getting that today. He overheard a conversation of an elder hunter a few days ago, and he managed to sneak an idea out. He would test it out today, and if he would be having a helper by his side, it could actually work. "Oh and...The name's Kos. Hi." He added after a while, simply to not be seen as too negative. After all, Orin himself gave a name to call him by, and he really didn't feel like getting a nickname today. Slowly, he rose to his feet, and hefted the backpack over his one shoulder, letting it press agaisnt the halberd on his back. As he straightened his back, he'd reveal his full size, and with that rose his left hand up to cratch the base of his nose through the mask. "Right, food wont catch itself, so I suggest we move." And with that, he motioned towards the direction of the city gates, and turned to face it. Looking behind him, to see if the man was still interested in joining him, before he began to walk.

[Orin Fenix]

Orin Fenix Food Equals Love The man’s voice was oddly muted, but that didn’t surprise Orin considering the state of the rest of his body. Orin might have finally found someone who was much worse off than Orin was, and it put Orin’s troubles in perspective. He was healthy and doing what he wanted. It didn’t matter that his boss was slightly crazy or he was lonely. In the grand scheme of things those were small problems and he was leading what most people would consider a charmed existence. So Orin felt sympathy for the man in front of him. Although Orin wouldn’t pretend to understand what Kos had gone through, Orin could maybe brighten up his day, at least a little. And really, Orin was lucky to have found a hunter ready to take him out on an expedition at this time of year. The woods would be picked relatively bare. Even though Rondo felt the universe should revolve around his kitchen and ingredients should be there whenever he asked, Orin was a bit more aware of the real world and how it worked. Orin didn’t know what Kos could find so he wasn’t quite sure how to answer. ”Mind if I tag along with you?” Orin ran his hand through in his hair agitatedly. He knew he would blamed if he didn’t come back with meat that Rondo approved of, even if that was completely unfair. It’s not like Orin could control the beasts in the wild. ”Well, I think that maybe I should leave that to the expert. I mean, I don’t know anything about hunting so what options are there and, well, what do you usually find in the winter?” ”It’s very nice to meet you Kos and thank you so much for giving me a hand! You’re a real lifesaver, or at least you’re saving my job! Which I really appreciate and all, I mean you’ve probably got a regular supplier set up or something and the last thing you need is some imbecile tagging along behind you.” Realizing he’d been monopolizing the conversation, Orin tugged his collar and grinned sheepishly. ”I’m sorry, I tend to ramble a bit.” Kos was very tall, and Orin struggled to keep up with the other man’s strides. Panting slightly, Orin caught up and did his best to stay side by side with Kos. ”So, how’d you get into this? Hunting I mean! Was it a family business or did you strike out on your own or what?” Orin remembered that sometimes asking about people’s personal lives was occasionally impolite and he should probably make sure Kos wanted to talk at all before Orin made even more of a fool of himself. ”We don’t have to talk if you don’t want to, of course. I can be quiet I promise.”

[Clemens Kos]

It didn't take long for the odd duo to leave the city, and were slowly but steadily en route to the forest which holded so many surprises for Kos already. And even if they barely started to walk, the man realized his new companion is quite a loud one. Not with the tone of his voice, but simply the fact that he seemed to talk quite a lot. About things that didn't really matter that much. Then again, Kos wasn't the best at having a conversation, so it could easily be the fact that what Orin was doing was considered normal, and Kos' action simply showed how off-sync he was with the rest of the world. Then again, he didn't exactly hate listening to the man ramble on. He had a certain uplifting tone of voice, and a somewhat curious glimmer in him. Something Kos himself left behind a while ago. Besides, if they were to start the hunt together, having that awkward silence could simply ruin the concentration and make him frustrated. He didn't mind the man tagging with him on this little hunt, and thus he was already considered a helper. As they were walking, Kos' eyes began to look around. He already had a plan set in motion in his head, so all it was required now was to bring it into existance. "If I get paid, I don't really care where the meat goes. It's always needed, because...well, people need it." Kos decided to reply and join the conversation, even though only a few words per exchange. He simply kept up the talk so his companion wouldn't feel that odd talking to himself, or well, talking to Kos' back. "And don't worry. I'll have you work your worth, too. We just need to find a good enough place to start." And with that, the man turned away from the road, and began to walk deeper in the forest. For Kos, however, it wasn't much of a change, simply because he was in these parts quite frequently, and thus knew where he had to go. His eyes looking from left to right, trying to recognise any trees, and any recognisable features of them, so he knew how to navigate. His steps were sure and steadily paced, even though he somewhat slowed down due to the fact he noticed the man was slightly out of breath already. The least he needed was loud breathing scaring off any game they might encounter. "Hunting? Eh...I was never really someone that did well with people. Don't have the patience for it. So I looked for something that has the least to do with them. Guess this is one of the occupations that came natural to me." Were the words Kos decided to use in his retort. They were the spoken truth, even though it might not be the real reason behind it. He smoothly decided to ignore the topic of family for the time being, not really feeling about sharing anything of his past. Even though he couldn't help but recall a sight from his past, with a room filled with flowers. A sigh escaped his lips, as he looked around the frozen and white covered ground. Like many winters past, no real flowers grow in such a cold weather. "You have to work with what you have, they told me. Sadly I don't have much to work with so I go around hunting animals." He added as a sour attempt at humor, trying to turn his own apperance as a joke and simply shrug it off. Even though he didn't really sound sad about it, nor regretful. Kos accepted himself a while ago, and thus only felt slightly amused talking about it.

[Orin Fenix]

Orin Fenix Food Equals Love Entering into the woods felt oddly like coming home to Orin. With the sunlight streaming through the trees reflecting off the mounds of snow and the bare branches waving in a slight wind it held a quiet beauty. Orin had often made an escape here when his life had overwhelmed him. It was much more comfortable roaming the trees than dealing with his father or his guardians. Though there were dangers, if you were smart and careful you could avoid them and Orin had never strayed too far that he wasn’t within shouting or sprinting distance of safety. So the woods had become a place of refuge to Orin. And they provided access to many foods and ingredients he couldn’t get inside the walls of the Outpost. So as Orin followed Kos into the deeper parts of the forest, Orin didn’t feel the fear that many people felt when they left the walls of the Outpost or the fortress. Instead, Orin felt a growing sense of excitement. Orin grinned at people always needing meat. ”I know that to be true for a fact! Although some of my best dishes don’t use any meat at all. Of course I don’t get to make the decisions on what we cook, which is why I’m out here with you.” Realizing in his rambling he may have once again insulted someone, Orin quickly added, ”Not that I’m not happy to be with you specifically but I’d rather be indoors in the warmth and doing my actual job, not sent out like an errand boy.” Orin really hoped Kos wouldn’t take offense at his statement and decided to stay silent for a bit. Kos mentioning that Orin would be helping him out brought Orin to a halt. ”B-b-but I don’t know anything about hunting! I’d probably just mess you up!” Quickly recovering his stride, Orin tried to make his case for why he shouldn’t be allowed to help. ”I’m terribly uncoordinated and I’d probably just slow you down. I mean, I know how to cook animals but I don’t know how they end up on my table or in my kitchen to be cooked in the first place!” Hearing the dreaded sound of a whine creep into his voice, Orin tried to calm himself down. ”I mean, I’d be happy to help if you think I can. And it’d be good for me to expand my horizons and learn a bit more of how food gets prepared all the way through the process.” Listening to Kos’s admission that he wasn’t good with people, Orin felt a spark of sympathy for the other man. Maybe Orin had found a kindred spirit. While Orin was blessed to be healthy and whole, he knew the pain of loneliness. He knew how being uncomfortable around people was a burden. And he also knew that even if you weren’t aware of it, people needed people, and everyone yearned for at least some contact. So Orin felt compelled, in his own way, to reach out to the other man. ”Well, you seem to be doing alright with me and I’m a person! So, well done on that front.” Orin forced himself to grin, even though inside he was cringing at how silly that probably sounded. Orin smiled for real at the attempted joke, hearing the self-deprecation he often used himself. ”I’ll bet you have many hidden talents just waiting to be discovered!” Orin didn’t know if his attempts to make Kos feel at ease were working but he had to try.

[Clemens Kos]

Kos really didn't know how to react to that. Sure, he was doing fine talking to this person, but Orin himself didn't really make it hard to have a conversation. Mostly because he was the one always talking, and it left Kos with only a few words per exchange to add more pine wood on the fire. Be it as it is, the talents sentance caused him to release a dried chuckle, while shaking his head from time to time. Did he really have something hidden under the surface? He really couldn't answer that, because he never really went out of his comfort zone. His vendetta on life forced him to train and do his best, so he really never had a knack for painting, or drawing, or singing, or whatever else people did in their free time. Even mother wasn't really thrilled about his lack of flower arrangments skill. Kos himself thought of himself as quite the bland inviduidual, and that was maybe one of the more psyhological reasons of him looking the way he does, even though Kos himself didn't really realize that. After all, he simply didn't want to look like a kid anymore. And that is when Kos realized he was spacing out of the conversation, and shook his head. "Maybe..." He added on Orin's last comment, releasing a sigh. Slowly, Kos came to a halt. They were now deep enough in the forest for the animals not to be too scared to the road, as it was on a safe distance for them to come out. Rolling his shoulders, he caused his backpack to slide off his shoulders, and with that he dropped down on his knees and openned it up. Rummaging through the inhalt of his supplies, he pulled out a handheld showel. A primitive miniature of the everyday tools, with a wooden handle big enough to fit in one's hand. All he needed to find now was a place the two would be able to set up his little trap. I'll need seven sticks. The width of a thumb, and size of your lower arm." Once Kos got to his little station, he dropped the plesantires. The two could easily talk more atferwords, but now work had priviliges. He was completely sure gathering sticks nearby was something even a child could do, so as long as he kept close enough to him, Kos would get the second part of his little trap he was builting in a few minutes. Nodding at Orin, Kos began to point the showel into the ground, and readying himself to begin to dig. Removing the first thin layer of snow was easy, as that could be done with his fingers, but the next one was tougher. First of all, however, he decided to remove his black coat, hanging it on a tree branch to the side. He knew the next thing he was doing would leave him muddied. The somewhat frozen, wet ground was valiantly fighting against Kos' showel, as he began to go deeper into the dark earth, throwing the dirt he dug out to the side. His muscles straining, using his left hand to support himself. He was somewhat sitting down on the ground, at an odd angle, digging away. Slowly but steadily, the hole was getting more difficult to dig into, as the showel was too small, so his back needed to arch even more. Kos wasn't digging a wide hole, but a deep one. Cursing to himself, as he needed to lie down to get deep enough with the showel, he began throwing the dirt to the side and after a while he finally managed to finish. The hole was around fourty inches deep, and Kos himself looked quite dirtied. Good thing his coat was removed, or else he'd needed to clean it again. One could say it was cold, but Kos barely felt it. The strains he put on his body left him with a slightly jagged greathing pattern and sweat building up on his forehead. The work out he did was quite something, even if he didn't waggle his halberd around for a change.

[Orin Fenix]

Orin Fenix Food Equals Love Kos didn’t seem to be much of a talker, but Orin had a bad habit of filling up empty space with his chatter. He knew it was awkward and often made people uncomfortable. It also drove away most of his potential friends and probably caused people to not invite him to their gatherings. Which was fine by Orin. His rambling was a defense mechanism he used to combat his crippling shyness. When he didn’t feel like people would like him the floodgates opened. Which had a tendency to turn into a vicious cycle, because people would snub him, he’d get even more afraid of approaching them, and then he’d talk even more. Kind of like he was doing now. ”No maybe about it! Everybody has something to offer, like, for instance, no one would have thought that I could be a cook but here I am! Although, to be perfectly honest most people still don’t think I can cook but I’m hoping they’re wrong about that, but really what I meant to say is don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.” Orin grinned at Kos to let him know this was all good-natured advice and Orin wasn’t trying to be patronizing. ”Of course I’m not exactly one to be talking, my track record on this subject isn’t exactly stellar.” That, at least, was the truth. Orin avoided situations where he felt he would look foolish at every opportunity. Stretching in the sun, Orin smiled. As always, it was good to be out of the enclosing walls of Syliras. While many people loved the security they provided and didn’t seem to mind that the corridors were stuffy and small. Orin always felt vaguely as if the walls were closing in on him. So Syna’s light was a distinct joy, even if the air was cold enough that his breath was making little puffs of cloud. Soon, they came to a halt. A change came over Kos and he became more taciturn, if such a thing was possible. However, he also spoke with authority and Orin hopped to his assigned task with a cheery ”I’m on it!” Orin glanced at the surrounding trees. He didn’t particularly want to deal with digging through the snow to find dead fall so instead he traveled around the surrounding woods, breaking off twigs from the lowest branches after carefully checking them for size. Soon, he had ten sticks, figuring that if for some reason seven didn’t work or some of them broke, it never hurt to have extra. He returned to find a coatless Kos digging a deep hole. Orin shivered in sympathy, although the other man didn’t seem cold. He did appear to be struggling a bit. Orin cradled his load carefully under his right arm, and called out ”Can I help at all?” Realizing he should probably inform Kos that Orin had completed his task. “Oh and I have the sticks and then some! What do you want me to do with them?” This was all mysterious to Orin, but he was oddly having a lot of fun with it.

[Clemens Kos]

When all was said and done, Kos felt like he managed to dig the hole in not that much big of a time span, which he was quite proud on. Oddly kneeling down on the ground at an angle that didn't seem comfortable at all, the man tried to regain his composure and much more importantly, his breath. As he was digging, he didn't really pay too much attention around his surroundings, simply because he thought the man that came with him would be gathering the wood somewhat near him. But the breaking of branches Orin did was quite quickly overtuned by the digging and breathing Kos made, so he had no idea where his new companion vanished too. Not that it mattered too much, because he was sure that the man couldn't get lost in the woods. And even if he did, he was old enough to find his way back. So without much of a worry, he left himself in thought and worked away. And once finished, he looked down at the masterly dug hole, nodding. He kept looking at it, and making slight adjustions, with the top of the hole being wider and in the shape of a flipped over triangle, simply so the walls would be as steep as they could be. The lower the hole went, the thinner and more steep it was. And then Kos jumped in surprise, causing his whole body to shake. Somewhat forgetting he didn't come here alone, he heard a voice calling out. Even though the words spoken were kind and simply offering help, it still took Kos by surprise as he released a low curse. "...That scared me." He muttered out, feeling himself to be quite a child in these kind of situations. He kept forgetting to look around while digging, and he was punished for that. With a jerk of his head in mutliple directions to shake the uncomfortable feeling off, he finally rose to his feet and turned to face the returning Orin. He looked over him, spotting the multiple of branches he was carrying with him. Kos knew the task he gave him was really easy, but he still liked to see it being carried out, and with spares to top it off. "Alright. We'll split the wood in two, and make stakes out of it. I need these to be pointy at both sides." Was the next comment he added, looking over the man. "You got a knife with you, or anything of the like?" Kos himself had his dagger on his side, but he was willing to lend it to the man and try his luck sharpening the stakes with the axe-head of his halberd, as funny as it would of looked. The hole itself and the stakes the two would be making momentarily were however not the hardest part in his little plan. Not to say it was complex to begin with, but the one thing that needed to work afterwords was getting some game to actually walk in these parts. He wondered if he should go on the other side of the trap they were making and start making noise, causing the animals if around to run towards here. He hummed in thought, as he waited for a reply. This whole trap idea wasn't his own creation, after all. He managed to overhear a hunter conversation a while back about how the more expensive traps worked, and he decided to try and improvise. It would be stupid to use the expensive traps in winter, anyways, because there was a risk of not getting any reward out if it. It was the first time he was building something like this, but it didn't seem all that hard in his head. And with help, he was sure that if he can snare and trap a small animal, he could repeat the process on a bigger one.

[Orin Fenix]

Orin Fenix Food Equals Love Orin had just assumed that Kos was paying attention to him. So when the other man jumped at Orin’s polite inquiry, it startled Orin as well. Orin squeaked, then clamped his hands over his mouth at the undignified sound. Of course, forgetting he was carrying branches, they fell out from under his arm at the sudden motion. Orin dropped to his hands and knees, scrabbling in the snow to pick them up again. ”I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you I just thought you knew I was there and I was trying to be nice and I promise I’ll announce my presence or or or something next time.” Standing back up, Orin bounced on his toes in anxiety. Glancing at the hole, Orin was surprised at its shape. The walls were smooth, and narrowed from the top to the bottom until it looked like it came to almost a point. Pointing at it, Orin asked, ”So, how exactly is that going to work?” He couldn’t wrap his mind around how that hole in the ground would possibly help them catch an animal. When Kos started to give Orin further instructions, Orin straightened up form the slight hunch he had been in while examining their pit. Scratching his head in puzzlement Orin looked at the branches. ”I’m sure this is an ignorant question, but when you say splitting the branches in two, do you mean the individual sticks or the pile as a whole?” Figuring he could get started on the far ends and then sharpen the middles if they did need to be broken, Orin took out his dagger. Holding it up where Kos could see it, Orin grinned. ”I think this’ll do. Shouldn’t it?” Orin then put the sticks in a neat pile next to a convenient rock, and sat. Picking the first one up, Orin held it in the middle. Taking his dagger up in his right hand, Orin began whittling at the end. He scraped the dagger away from him, figuring what was good advice in cooking was probably good advice in woodcarving. Turning the stick periodically, Orin soon had what he thought was a nice point. He waved it at Kos. ”Is this pointy enough?” Orin grinned, truly enjoying himself, which was unexpected. He flipped the stick over and started on the other side. When that was finished, Orin placed it on the opposite side of the rock, and picked up another one. He found himself humming contentedly, and he glanced at Kos to see what the other man was up to.