Closed It all started like this.... (Jasmine)

[Cynelaf Earthsong]

16 Fall, 516

The air had hung hot, humid and still, day after day, like an unwanted cloak, smothering the Drykas under the bright rays of Syna’s overly generous love. The land lay parched, the grass badly in need of rain. Even in the darkest hours of the night, there was little relief from the muggy heat. It seemed as if the earth was determined to bake itself into a hard, merciless crust. The animals that moved on it, seeking scant food and hard to find water, did so when the heat was less fierce, at dusk, or dawn.

It was this which had brought Cynelaf to what once had been a watering hole. Now it was little more than a muddy puddle, but those in need of the life giving liquid could not be too choosy. He had come well before the stars set, in order to have some hope of surprising something that might be edible. The elders had been talking of late, warning of the coming winter – which the portents deemed would be a bitterly harsh one. Food was needed now, but it would be in even shorter supply in the coming months, or so they claimed. And he had no reason to doubt their wisdom. His family would need to eat. He needed to find a way to find more food.

He wasn’t much of a hunter. But now there were no other men in the pavilion, and so try he must. He had a little skill with the short bow. His father and uncle had taught him. But tracking was not something he’d spent much time on. So he had to resort to another skill which he did happen to posses – webbing. Before leaving the tent he shared with the two women and three little girls, he had sat alone, in his section, quite still and silent. He had concentrated hard, bringing to his mind both peace and energy. The more his muscles relaxed, the brighter the mental energy became, the djed coagulating in his mind and then branching out, like the roots of a tree. Spiking and budding and growing, it reached out, past the tent, past the sleeping city, out into the night, into the vast sea of grass, searching for connections, following the lighted strands that crossed and recrossed the plains all around him.

There were hundreds, if not thousands, of them, and it took some time to find the ones he wanted. In something like an incorporeal form, his mind wandered, casting aside the strands that told him they led to other Drykas. Further and further from the city he moved, testing this one and that, almost like playing a great stringed instrument. He needed to find the type of life forms that would yield meat. Cynelaf did not like using his skill for such a mundane and ultimately grisly purpose. But he had little choice. Even as he walked, or swam, along the lines that led him away, he sensed the secure ties to those he sought to feed – Sen’net, Bebinn, and the little ones. They kept him anchored. They needed him so, hunt he must.

Finally he had found the small watering hole, a good quarter day’s ride away from the city. It was just within the boundary he had set, beyond which he dared not stray. He had enough wits to keep himself alive for a day. But to spend a night out there – no, that was utter folly. He’d do his small family no good by getting himself killed out there. But if he left right away, he could be there before the animals he had clearly sensed through the web began to stir. He could find a good place to hide himself from their keen senses (hopefully) and wait, bow and arrow in hand. That was the plan anyway.

His ears pricked at a sound. It wasn’t one he would have anticipated though. Poking his head up from where he knelt, hidden in a clump of yellowed grass, he narrowed his eyes. He swore softly, without making any real sound. He had specifically ridden out on his strider to get away from others who would no doubt be after the same sort of game as he was. What was this other Drykas doing here?

Well… hunting would the logical answer.

[Jasmine Stormblood]

Jasmine stretched as she laid on the pallet of furs. The blond had not even attempted to get under them last night. In this kind of humidity there was a little any of them could do to get any real relief. Sighing gently the woman sat up and grabbed her brush. She had to find some way of taming the wild mess on top of her head. Though that seemed like a much larger feat than it should have been. Digging in her bag the girl finally pulled her brush out. Getting comfortable at least for the moment she started pulling the crush through her matted and tangled hair. Wincing and the woman cursed herself for keeping her hair so long. Finally finishing the girl dug through her bag for something more comfortable to wear in the heat. After pulling on her pants and shirt the blond stepped out of the tent taking a deep breath of the muggy hair. Coughing some the woman shook out her hair just a little. Grabbing the yvas and a couple of empty bags the girl set out to get her stallion ready. Or as ready as she could given he wouldn't even get up yet.

“Chaser get up there is no time for fooling around,” Jasmine growled.

The woman poked him harder in the back with her boot while speaking. Snorting the horse finally got up and shook out his mane. Jasmine walked in front of him, lifting the yvas up and over his head. The blond finally got everything on him before mounting up and looking to the sky. It wasn't raining so the woman planned to take advantage. She needed to do some foraging and perhaps a little fishing. Neither was a strong skill for her. Though the fishing may turn out to be impossible with how low the water was at the moment. Mounting up the woman turned the stallion away from the pavilion and clicked her tongue. After riding for a way Jasmine slowed Chaser to a walk while looking around. Spotting a small body of water she allowed the stallion to go towards it hoping to maybe get some cattails or some kind of edible flowers to bring back. What she found however caught her by surprise a young man had poked his head out of the grass at her arrival.

“Oh excuse me. I didn't mean to disturb your hunt,” Jasmine stated with an apologetic look to him.