Closed Thorn in Your Side (Alija)

[Sayana]

Winter 53, 516 AV – Forest of Thorns

In… and out. In… and out. Sayana tried to wait patiently as she watched the hole in the ground. She was sure she had seen one of the little thorny rabbits dart into it and now she was waiting for it to come out again, once it thought the coast was clear. She regulated her breath to stay quiet while she hid behind a tree, but more importantly it was to keep her from getting utterly bored. It had been half a bell since it scampered into the crevice and she crouched poised with a throwing dagger in each of her high hands.

More deep breaths. It was almost like meditating for the use of magic, except instead of focusing on a dark void of emptiness she was focused intently on the little hole. In some ways it was like a black void. Just smaller, and with earth around it, and more… hole-y.

A tingling sensation rippled up her leg and she quickly looked around wondering if it was some unknown magical effect. But as she began to stand, the answer was obvious. “Petch!” She cursed under her breath. Her foot was falling asleep.

As she tried to shift to ease her leg, she couldn’t help but think about the last time she tried to hunt rabbits. It felt like a lifetime ago. And back then she had help to flush them out. Still, if all she needed was patience to wait for the right time, then surely she could manage that.

Time seemed to stand still. Like literally. Nothing seemed to be happening except for the persistent tingling in her leg despite her efforts to calm it. But then… A hint of white appeared at the dark void that was the hole. The faintest movement, and then it disappeared again. Sayana refocused herself and spotted movement again. Then slowly, ever so slowly, the twitching white ear with little thorns appeared from the hole, soon followed by a sniffing nose and the rest of the body of the hare.

For a moment Sayana was afraid she might get sniffed out by the little rabbit. But as she kept motionless behind the tree, she was relieved at her foresight to situate herself downwind of the hole. Gradually, she moved into a stand and readied herself. The thorny rabbit was almost fully out of the hole now. Another sniff and a small hop, then…

The Eypharian drew her hand back and whipped the dagger towards the creature in a powerful overhand throw. But the windback had given the hare half a tick’s warning so that when the blade flew through the air, the rabbit had hopped just out of the way. It then continued to dart off at an odd angle and Sayana leapt from her hiding place to dash after it.

She was close, almost within near throwing range for a fatal strike. But then the hare suddenly jumped towards her. In surprise, she threw up her low and mid hands, but only to feel the sharp sting of the thorns. “What the hai…?” She began but then felt her limbs and mouth stiffening up.

She couldn’t talk, her arms seemed fused, and her legs… Petch petch petch. She hadn’t anticipated the sudden paralysis and her body wasn’t perfectly centered over her feet, not to mention the momentum from her earlier run. Unable to help herself, she fell forwards with a thud onto the forest floor. For maybe five ticks she lay there with her face on the ground until she felt movement return to her body.

Leaping back onto her feet she looked madly about, blades raised. “Shyke! Where did it go?”

[Alija]

Winter 53, 516 AV
Forest of Thorns


Hunting was not what Alija was meant to be doing. She was a blacksmith, spending hours in a forge crafting the greatest things man could make. She was an aurist, analysing the most mysterious objects to uncover the truth behind them. She was a mage, and that meant she should have been in a lab, experimenting, practising, or in a library reading and learning.

She was not a hunter, and she hated the way she was assigned this stupid role because of the pulsing from her heart.
Just because she preferred to be living rather than dead.

With a spear in her hand, she crouched in the undergrowth, pretending to be a hunter because that was all she knew. Surely she could remember something useful from the games she played as a child. Something that was actually real, rather than a fantasy created by kids playing. So far, it wasn't going well. Her attempts of stealthily trailing the forest were more like her clumsily trampling through thorns and her chases - she was going to forget all about then, she decided, rubbing where the thorns had clung to her.

Next time, she was going to pay someone to do this for her.

A noise of another hunter, swearing loudly, brought her towards it, hoping that teaming up with someone would be much better. After all, having two people meant that when they saw one of those thorny creatures, maybe they wouldn't both collapse because of that poison.

Did she mention how much she hated the poison? She had been hit so many times, the times she had stumbled across the rabbit and actually been happy, then realised it was wasted when she blacked out.

She stepped forward, getting her shirt caught, and her spear caught. Letting out a large grunt of annoyance, she looked through the thorns and pulled herself free, spotting the other hunter.

"Hey," she called out, hoping to not surprise her and get one of those daggers thrown at her. Instantly, she could tell the woman was more experienced with something a little like this, although from the way she had just got up from being paralysed, not much. A quick check with auristics assured her that her initial guess as to the woman's heartbeat was correct; after all, no nuit would bother venture out here when they had apprentices to send instead.

This six-arms was a true Eypha-something. "I'm struggling too," she said with a weak smile, pushing hair from her forehead. It was clotted with sweat, but the wrong kind. She was used to the sweat of a fire behind her and from lifting heavy metal all day long. Not running around like a mad man in a forest of thorns. "Maybe if we work together, we can actually catch something?" she continued, hoping she hadn't missed a thorn hare on the hunter and greatly offended her. She checked - the woman was struggling too.

[Sayana]

Sayana looked up suddenly at the voice in the woods. She wasn’t alone. Yet the feminine voice didn’t sound threatening. She turned to watch as the newcomer approached, and she lowered her blades slightly. At least Sayana could avoid the thorns for the most part, but this young lady had the thorny branches clutching at her with every step it seemed.

“I haven’t caught one yet. The first… did something to me. When it jumped at me.” Sayana spoke in explanation. “You’re trying to hunt the rabbits too? For eating or for… testing.” She gave a wave of her high hand as she tried to come up with the appropriate word.

She paused a moment, letting the woman respond and also considering the preposition. She’d worked together before, when hunting, and it had proved useful.

“I think we’re going to have to be creative. Even if we do work together. These are not your typical rabbit. Trust me, I’d know.”

She twirled one of the daggers in her hand, seemingly lost in thought, and then bent down to retrieve the dagger she had thrown from earlier.

“Aha! I have a plan. You go in first. Grab it like this.” She mimed giving a big bear hug. “Get yourself paralyzed. And make sure you hold it as I go in for the kill.” There were two ticks pause as she watched the woman, a twinkle in her eye and a barely concealed grin on her lips.

Then she broke into a full-fledged smile as she gave a hearty clasp to Alija’s shoulder. “Nah, I wouldn’t sentence a friend to be bait. If only I could just…” Even as she spoke, her eyes began to light up. This time with true inspiration.

“Actually, I think I can. I could use magic to lure them out. Maybe even bring them right to me without scampering away. The only problem now is finding them.”

[Alija]

"Poison," she replied simply, remembering the warnings she had received, "They've hit me too. At least-" she shuddered, trying not to picture it, "at least they aren't dangerous." Being knocked out for a few chimes was nothing, compared to what could happen. The rabbits could be carnivorous, and use the chance to attack. Or the poison could be deadly, or at least a lot more severe.

"And both," she continued, wishing it wasn't true, "My master wants some to test who knows what on. And I thought maybe I'd get enough to have some to eat, rather than searching to find some for a good price." She sighed again, speaking out loud as she watched the woman's hands, still unaccustomed to them. "I came to learn magic, not to realise how badly I hunt. I shouldn't be here."

Now she sounded like a moaning child. Alija pressed her forehead into her hand, wishing this was all over. It was like a dream, one where she was desperately waiting for the end. She wasn't going to call it a nightmare - it wasn't as bad as things she had dreamed - but it wasn't a nice dream in any instance.

As the Eypha-something continued to speak, Alija nodded along, agreeing. If even this woman, who, from the way she handled her daggers, seemed more experience, believed it would take creativity, then it definitely would. At the sound of a plan, Alija looking interested, tilting her head slightly as she listened. Then she was horrified. Was this woman seriously asking her to grapple with one of those thorny beasts and get pricked a million times so she could make the kill? If that was the best idea, she should just go do the grappling - Alija couldn't believe her...

Then she spotted the grin on her face and the twinkle in her eye and realised that her furious expression and tense fists were for a joke. She relaxed a little at the smile, but found the term "friend" and the grab at her shoulder too soon after a joke like that. How had Alija meant to have known it wasn't serious? She had only met the woman and the plan had sounded fairly genuine.

At the mention of magic, and a real plan, Alija showed a little more interest again, although was careful not to react too greatly in case it was all a little joke again. "What magic?" she asked, carefully, not surprised at all that the woman had some. This was Sahova after all - if it was Ravok or Nyka or even Zeltiva, the news would actually be interesting. The only interesting part here was what it was, so she could understand how the plan would work.

Realising that she had her own magic to offer, to sort the other side of the plan out, she smiled, eyes lighting up. "I can find them," she said quickly, "I can use auristics - see their auras. With enough effort, I can see down their rabbit holes, I think." She could see through walls, after all. And she could do that years ago. Surely her skill had progressed enough to look through something slightly thicker. It didn't even need to be a good look. Just enough to tell that there was an aura there.

"I just need somewhere to look," she finally decided, "A rabbit hole or something. Seen any of them?" Alija had - she had tripped over a few. Only she couldn't remember where or in which direction. Everything here looked the same to her.

[Sayana]

Sayana couldn’t help but enjoy the near fury and then stunned expression on the woman’s face. Still, sometimes she might push a little too far, and she did actually think she could use some help with the hunting.

“What magic? Hypnotism.” Sayana replied and then quickly held up a mid hand defensively. “And before you start accusing me, no, I have not used any hypnotism on you. Besides, you have auristics. You’d be able to tell if I tried.”

With Alija’s explanation regarding the auristics, Sayana was intrigued by the use of that magic. She still found it hard to even concentrate on an aura and grasp hold of it long enough to find out information, but the woman before her presented an interesting use.

To further elaborate her own magic use, she explained, “Although I might not be able to lock my gaze upon them, I may be able to lure them out with the sound of my voice. Give the rabbits a sense of safety and the promise of food outside their dens.”

She gave a nod in acknowledgement when the woman asked about places to look. “I’ve seen a couple, like the last one I was at. There’s bound to be more. I also saw one of the pricklies scamper into a bush. A really big thorny bush, several paces wide. Didn’t stay because I was pretty sure I’d lost it.”

The Eypharian began to walk around feeling the itch to get moving again and also seek out the hiding places of the hares. The black cloak she wore protected her dress from the thorny foliage but it was draped in such a way that all six arms were in view and had substantial movement.

“Be sure to look out for little trails or nests of leaves, not that there are many leaves here. And droppings. Usually you wouldn’t think much of them, but the small pebbly kind are sometimes rabbit droppings, and if you find those then their dens might be nearby.” Sayana explained as she crunched down low thorny vegetation to force a trail through the undergrowth.

“Come on, follow me.” She added with a beckoning wave of a low hand and began to carve out a path. As she walked, she began pointing out various features. “There’s a fallen log. Might be rotten on the inside with a place to hide. And over there is an especially dense bush with thorns and even some leaves. That stump looks suspicious. There might even be a hole amongst its roots. And what about that big branch laying on the ground full of pine needles?”

Every so often she had to lift up her skirt with her lows to avoid some of the prickly thorns littering the vegetative cover. Partway through their trek she would ask, “What’s your name by the way? I’m Sayana.”

[Alija]

The woman announced that it was hypnotism and then became defensive, not wanting to be accused of using it. She had no reason to worry: as she had said Alija had auristics, she would be able to tell whether it was used on her, unless this woman was exceptionally good.

Besides, from what she could remember, everything she had felt and thought was her own. The woman had no reason to use it.

The way she offered to use her magic was interesting. Alija listened closely, hoping that one day, if she chose to learn hypnotism and then decided to hunt with it, she would remember this tactic. Not that that would happen.

As the woman began to walk, Alija followed, listening carefully to what she said. Big bushes were an important place to look. Trails and droppings were important to look for too. The smith nodded, realising that she had completely forgotten that aspect of hunting. Her eyes sunk to the ground, searching for something. Either there was nothing there or she couldn't see it - or both.

The other woman crunched forward, then beckoned her to follow. Alija did without hesitation, knowing that she had no hope of spotting anything herself. Each time she pointed something out, Alija hated that she hadn't spotted it as well, then focused on her djed. With enough inhales and exhales, she began to search the surroundings for the glowing auras that would come with each rabbit.

The log was too thick, not fully rotten to provide shelter for the rabbits. She quickly shifted to the bush, finding it much easier to see through. Its aura was much weaker, clinging to each separate branch allowing her to peek through the gaps. She thought she saw something, but then it disappeared quickly. As she focused a little more, she realised she had seen something - and then it had run off.

Deciding not to worry, she moved on, examining the stump. Nothing around the stump itself, or behind it. Nodding as Sayana, as the woman had introduced herself, suggested there might be a hole, she turned her attentions lower, trying to see through the dirt at the roots.

It took effort, she had to admit that. As she stared, she felt the magic straining to see that deep, but she pushed herself, letting her eyes focus and defocus as she tried to see past the aura of the roots and the earth.

There! She could see its aura, shining out against the weaker, darker auras of the surroundings. Before she overgave, she relaxed, rubbing her eyes slightly to dislodge all of the djed. "I'm Alija," she introduced quickly, before pointing at the tree stump, "There's a hole, with a rabbit. Can you do your thing?"

She didn't even bother checking the branch. Her eyes lit up with excitement of being so close to actually getting something, and she gripped her spear tightly, despite knowing she wouldn't use it properly. Now it was Sayana's turn and they would finally catch something.


[/size]

[Sayana]

As Sayana pointed out various hiding spots, she watched as her companion focused on them but dismissed them. There were a couple times that the Eypharian tried to concentrate her own djed and auristics on the other woman, but by the time she had cleared her mind, the woman had already given the verdict and was ready to move on. Even though she was curious to see what it was like for an aura to be active with djed use, it would have to wait for another time.

When Alija pointed out the hole with the rabbit, Sayana felt a shiver of excitement ripple through her. They had found one! Now all they had to do was catch it. “I will concentrate on it and see if I can lure it out,” Sayana answered quietly as she sat down on a patch of bare ground several feet from the hole.

First she began to clear her mind, dismissing her earlier excited thoughts for a sense of calm. However, it wasn’t for the hypnotism that she needed this additional preparation. Sayana wanted to see if her own auristics could detect the presence of the hare. She closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths and channeling her djed to her eyes. She focused on the dark red of her vision and her slow long breaths. At last, she opened her eyes and concentrated on the hole in the ground not too far away. There was a hard but withered look to the faint colours around the tree stump. The hole seemed to have even less of an aura. And then as she tried to focus longer, the pearly colours from what she assumed was the rabbit seemed to radiate out from the small hole. Or somehow she was seeing through the ground.

As she tried to make sense of it, her concentration wavered, and the aura she had been focusing on disappeared. Blinking for a moment, she composed herself and instead prepared for the hypnotism.

Despite the minor headache that was beginning to form, she reached for her djed once more. This time, she concentrated on feelings of safety and calm. The forest was a little eerie but with long slow breaths she infused this sense of security into her djed. As she channeled it into her lips and tongue, she softly sang a simple melody.

“Safe and sound
Do not fear
Hush, my little darling
Safety is near”

This was not the magic that would lure the rabbit out, but it was a necessary prerequisite before implementing the next part of hypnotism.

Sayana made sure that her mid and low hands held daggers at the ready, but they rested upon the forest floor, relaxed and out of immediate sight. She prepared some more djed with a feeling of hunger and channeled it towards the hare as she spoke the next hypnotism infused words.

“There’s food outside. It’s in those hands. If I’m just quick enough.”

There was a tentative sniff near the entrance to the hole. Suddenly the thorn hare darted quickly towards Sayana’s cupped high hands. Just as quickly she aimed a swift side blow with her right mid hand and plunged the dagger deep into the rabbit’s fur. For a moment there was some frantic motion, but Sayana’s next dagger struck it deep in the heart and the creature went still.

Blood dripped down the matted fur, especially as Sayana removed one of the daggers, but the Eypharian’s eyes were bright with pride and accomplishment.

“We got one!”

[Alija]

Alija focused herself onto Sayana, hazel eyes staring unblinking at the woman. She wanted to watch this hypnotism, and what better way than to watch it with eyes soaked in djed? As she cleared her mind and began to search for her aura, she realised that the woman was doing the same. She could recognise the actions anywhere, and the aura seemed to become clear, bubbling with magic use.

She focused on this magic, ignoring the rest, and held onto it with her djed, feeling the djed movement in the other woman as if it were her own. It shifted through her body and slowly diminished, but this time in a different way to when she used auristics. Her entire aura seemed to rearrange itself as the djed was used, becoming softer, more welcoming.

It was pulled to her throat as she began to sing, a short, simple melody. More djed was shifted, something else added to the hypnotism. As she spoke again, the rabbit moved out and Alija exhaled sharply, letting her djed return to its normal state as she focused on the events with a clear head, albeit the headache, and normal sight.

The thorn hare bounced right up to its killer, Sayana dealing two sudden and sharp killing blows. Alija flinched a little at the blood, but she couldn't help feeling pride at finally catching something.

When the hare fell still, the problem with this method shot to her. Dead was useful for herself, for food, but she doubted that her master wanted them dead. Thorn hares, when alive, would provide whatever needed, whatever it was. "Do you think..." she trailed off, thinking for herself before she said anything else.

They would need something to put them in. If she was still in her forge, she would bring her hammer to good use and make as many as she felt like, metal moulded however she wanted. But they weren't, that was the problem. Alija scanned the surroundings, hoping a cage would magically appear out of nowhere.

It didn't, but an idea did and Alija knelt on the ground, her own knife out. Using it, she hacked at the thorns beside her, trying to avoid the fallen branches that stuck into her knees. Then, with each thorn branch, she began to scrape the thorns off, pushing her hair behind her ear as she focused entirely on her work, almost forgetting Sayana behind her.

Once she had enough branches, she picked at the loose thread at the bottom of her shirt, biting it off with her teeth. Arranging the branches in a criss-cross pattern, she used the thread to bind it together, tying it tightly and firmly as best as she knew how. It took a while, and a few branches, most of them snapped, but she managed to make six, and formed them into a cuboid.

She remained silent as she worked, working quickly with nimble fingers and thinking through her design as she went. It had plenty of holes for the thorns to shoot through - that had to be fixed. With a bit of thought, she decided she could simply cover it with her cloak, to protect herself. It was a quick and simple fix, not the best, but it would do.

Finally attaching the last side, she lifted her creation for Sayana to see. "A cage, for the live ones." Demonstrating, she lifted one side away, hinged at the top, "Can you coax them in? Then we could shut it and get some." She frowned, wondering what she had forgotten. "Maybe we need a few more, I think," she added, finally, moving closer so the woman could inspect her creation.

It was rather flimsy, but hopefully, the rabbits weren't stronger than usual too. The sticks were arranged in what were meant to be neat rows, but with her haste, slightly wonky and some gaps were significantly bigger than others. Maybe the woman would have ways to improve it, maybe not. As Alija fiddled with the hinged door, she watched her, wondering what she had to say about her creation.

[Sayana]

With the bloodied carcass of the hare staining her hands, Sayana also realized that she’d have to give her clothes a good wash too. All in due time. Still, she had convinced it to come, although a little quicker than she had initially intended. The prickly creature seemed to have sufficiently less thorns on its underside, or none at all. Sayana curiously reached out a finger to touch the tip of one of the thorns.

Her arms suddenly stiffened and even her legs felt tight as the world spun with dizzy eyes. But by half a chime it was over. Fast acting and quickly disappearing. Due to the still potent quality of the thorns, and the possibility of using them in future for her own benefit, Sayana began to slowly harvest them by pulling them out one by one. Many needed the assistance of her dagger to pull free, and after careful work using multiple hands to speed up the process, she had the small quills laid out beside her after about ten chimes.

Alija was clearly busy too, with her own ideas, and Sayana only occasionally looked up to see what the woman was working upon. The Eypharian now set the mostly safe carcass down on the forest floor, except for a few quills that were missed, and stood up to see what Alija had made.

A cage. Clearly Alija had made use of the surrounding thorns and vegetation to create the flimsy container. She looked at it critically, seeing where the thin threads held the frame.

“These should be tied tighter. I might be able to get the rabbits in, but I don’t think I can convince them for bells on end that this cage is a safe home for them. Eventually they will want to get out, and this won’t hold them.”

Sayana suddenly had an idea for something strong yet flexible. Kicking her boot against the base of a small thorny shrub, she revealed the roots underneath and found some that were thin and still flexible. She cut off several of these pieces of root and used them to reinforce the cage by tying small knots in places that looked weak. Glancing around the thorny forest, she caught sight of some vines that climbed high into the trees. Giving one a good yank and cutting it where necessary, Sayana pried long lengths of the vines from the tree. She considered removing the leaves but changed her mind. Instead, she simply took Alija’s cloak off from the cage and began to wrap the vines round and round in various directions to provide a more substantial wall where the thorns acted like a frame.

“That should help, and also protect us from the thorns on the rabbits. I’ll take this cage, and you can make more?” It was less of a question and more a statement of direction. They had, of course, gotten the first rabbit with their combined efforts and to run off now with the cage wouldn’t serve much use.

As Sayana ventured through the forest, she was momentarily concerned that she wouldn’t be able to find any rabbits on her own. But there were droppings here, and a small path there, and… She sucked in a breath of air as the forest thinned to open up into a huge thicket filled with small darting movement.

“Shh, Alija!” Sayana whispered, trying to loud enough for the woman to hear but not so loud to disturb the bush. “There’s more!” Whoever had said the thorn rabbits were overbreeding was not joking.

Sayana crouched down in front of the thicket and set the cage on the ground next to her. She turned it so that the door would open at the front and she began to focus her djed for hypnotism. Similarly to the last time, she started with the simple song and concentrated on feelings of safety and security as she spread her djed towards the thicket.

Next, she broke up some of the thorns nearby and placed them inside the cage. Catching the gaze of one of the hares she pushed outwards a new thought for the hare to receive. There’s a new home. A home with food. It’s too crowded here. Sayana felt the drain of magic acutely as she bombarded the rabbit with the series of thoughts.

All of a sudden her stomach growled and she wondered if the forest of thorns would be a good place to pitch a tent. Trying to shake herself of the unbidden thoughts, she refocused her attention to the cage. Surprisingly, there was already a hare inside nibbling at the crushed thorns. Did they actually eat thorns? It was just supposed to be a ruse. Nevertheless, Sayana slowly shut the door and went to find more roots to tie it shut while she kept it firmly closed with her low hands.

[Alija]

Sayana inspected it well, pointing out flaws that Alija noticed herself. Then, she moved to get roots, something the blacksmith wouldn't have even thought of, and began to tighten the loosest joins. The woman watched while the Eypha-something worked, wishing her creation hadn't needed the extra touches. Still, she supposed, it was always better to have someone else add and improve ideas, because that way they became better.

As she took her cloak back, she wished she had the idea to use the leafy vines as a protection instead. "That's perfect," Alija nodded, a little too discouraged by the amount of changes to actually try and improve it some more, "I'll do another one. Maybe two? Just one for now, actually. Who knows if we'll fine more rabbits."

Getting busy, she kept an eye on Sayana and her first cage, mainly so she could use the latter as a template for the one she was making. This time, she took a little more time over it, now knowing the idea was actually useful. The main frame of thorn branches was smoother than the rough ones she had hacked at before and they were placed in straight lines, with just the roots to tie them, which was much stronger.

As she was hacking at the vines to get enough to form the "walls", Sayana, who had drifted through the forest, hushed her, the woman not realising she had been that loud. It turned out it was more to get her attention, Alija turning her head at the sound of more. She grabbed the half-finished cage and the vines she had gathered, and stepped towards the six-armed woman. The ground crunched under her feet and she stopped, not wanting to startle the animals.

Instead she watched, very slowly winding the vines around the cage while she did. Sayana was using her magic, and a rabbit slowly bounced up, entering the cage she had made. It was incredibly impressive and Alija nodded encouragingly as it sniffed at the thorns, watching the door slowly close.

Once one thorn hare was caught, she tiptoed nearer, realising how loud she was with every step. The cage she was working on was basically complete and she passed a spare root to Sayana so she could close the cage more securely. "Do you think," she whispered softly, trying to spot the hares before they would disappear completely, "You can do another one?"

She wrapped the end of the vine across the top of the cage, hoping it was secure enough before passing it over to Sayana. She did feel a little bad at making the woman use so much magic, but as long as Sayana wasn't complaining and they were catching rabbits, whether alive or dead, she wasn't going to say anything about it. Everyone had their own limits, and most knew them. Alija ducked down to crouch like the other woman, wondering how quickly these things bred. She was surprised there wasn't someone who had domesticated them already, or at least started a business where they bred them in a more controllable environment. Then again, this was Sahova, not a normal city at all. Maybe she would suggest it to Sayana, though, after the need for quiet was gone.