[Solo]Grudgement

[Rhaeol]

24 Spring, 411 Rhaeol trudged through the snow behind Avern. His eyes were flashing violently between the deep purple of anger and the red of frustration. His grandparents were excellent people, with wise judgement, but maybe their minds were failing a bit in their old age because this had to be the worst decision they'd ever made. How was one day of hunting going to help heal 21 years of animosity? Most only one of them was coming back from this and if it came to that, Rhaeol planned to be that one. "Are your legs broken or something? Let's move it." Avern's harsh rasp called back across the white terrain. Rhaeol halted himself from continuing the melody of the words in his head. Avern's words didn't deserve to be turned into a song. "My legs are just fine, but thank you for your concern." Rhaeol replied with mock sweetness, "I just didn't realize we were in such a rush to kill things." Avern grunted, a civilized termination of a conversation, and carried on. Rhaeol fingered the bow slung across his back. One shot to the back of the head and... no I can't think that way. Besides, it would break my grandparents hearts, but if I came up with a story about a horrible accident or an animal attack, and hid the body, sure they'd be sad, but they'd get over...What am I thinking, since when am I a violent person? Rhaeol crashed that train of thought and quickened his pace a bit. The sooner they got there the sooner this day would be over...or something like that. But why are we going so far from the city? he thought as the train resurrected itself from the fiery crash, Probably so he has more time to think of his story of a horrible accident. He crashed the thought train again, this time burying it in the recesses of his mind, and hurried to catch up.

[Rhaeol]

At last, they reached the location Avern had chosen for their hunt. Rhaeol had caught up to him a while before they arrived, but had maintained a distinct distance between them. He'd never actually been this far outside of the city, but ultimately there wasn't even a whole lot of difference. Just more frozen land hidden by trees here and there. The grove they had arrived at didn't seem much different then the others, besides being somewhat bigger, and Rhaeol finally gave in and voiced the question he'd been holding onto the whole way, "Why did we go so far from Avanthal?" "Because the farther from the city you are, the wilder nature becomes." Avern replied enigmatically. Rhaeol was slightly taken aback. That had almost sounded nice. Apparently Avern's love of hunting had trumped his hate of Rhaeol. At least for now. "Let's get started. I'll try and teach you how to hunt, though I doubt it will stick in that thick head of yours if it's not written down in a book." The grunt was back. "First we have to track the animal. Obviously, with all the snow, it's a bit easier than anywhere else. Probably a good thing for you. So go find some tracks, and call me when you do. No point in teaching you if you don't try it yourself." Rhaeol stepped off into the woods fuming. He had no idea what he was looking for, everything looked the same to him, but he wasn't about to show weakness in front of his nemesis.

[Rhaeol]

Rhaeol trudged through the snow, occasionally throwing glances behind him expecting to see Avern sneaking up behind him with knife in hand. I have to stop thinking like that. Avern can't kill me for the same reasons I can't kill him. We're just stuck in an eternal battle of scathing looks. At least as long as my grandparents are living... And then he'll have the support of the rest of the family and... No I have to stop thinking like that. At last, Rhaeol stumbled upon some tracks, literally. He tripped over a bush and landed with his nose in the snow directly in front of a set of tracks. He had no idea what animal had made them, but whatever it was, it didn't seem to big. He was about to call on Avern, but then decided that he would follow the tracks himself kill the beast, whatever it was, and return to Avern with a smug smile on his face. That would show Avern that he wasn't some little kid to be pushed around anymore. He set off following the tracks, trying his best to be silent. That didn't work out so well seeing as he was definitely not a graceful person. But he did alright, and only stumbled in the snow drifts once more. The tracks led out of the forest and back onto the endless white of Taldera. After taking in the view, and composing a short song in his head to capture it (though it was so short it was hardly worth calling a song), Rhaeol continued to follow the tracks. They led back into the forest and he now noticed that ever so often, they were accompanied by drops of blood in the snow. After a few more minutes, Rhaeol stopped. In front of him was a deer resting beneath a tree in a space somewhat cleared of snow. It looked so peaceful, but he noticed the arrow in it's side and it's heavy breathing. Someone had obviously shot at it, but it had got away and they hadn't finished it off. It was in a lot of pain he could tell. Suddenly the deer bolted up. It looked directly at him and then half-ran, half-limped along into the depths of the forest. Rhaeol called Avern. It had been long enough and if he didn't do anything soon, Avern would certainly think him inept. He leaned against a tree and waited.

[Rhaeol]

Rhaeol picked his way through the snow-dappled undergrowth, mimicking Avern's movements carefully. As much as hated to admit it, Avern actually did know what he was doing, and had a wealth of knowledge that Rhaeol could tap into. But why do I hate it, why do I have this hatred of him? he thought as he stepped stealthily over a log only to have his foot land on a twig on the other side. Avern shot a glance back at him, then whispered, "Try to watch where you're going, huh." The voice was laced with contempt, but once again, buried within those words were a couple of hints about tracking. Keep alert and focused. But also buried within those words was the answer to his question. I hate him because he hates me. Rhaeol considered this as he stepped past another twig. But that just seems so petty....No, it's true and I'm sticking to it. I hate him because he hates me. Avern motioned abruptly for him to stop. The deer was ahead stumbling painfully through the snow. "I'm going to let you take the shot. Try not to miss though, the animal's in enough pain already." It was there again, just like always, that glint of hatred that coated his cousins voice. But that same love of nature, of hunting, of being part of the wild north was there as well. Maybe there's just more to him that I've never seen before... But whydoes he hate me? I'm just as much a victim as he is... Rhaeol pulled out the bow he had borrowed from his family. One of these days he'd get his own bow, but for now this was good enough for practice. He grabbed an arrow and tried to nock the arrow. His hand wavered, but he got it on his fifth try. That was the problem with archery, he didn't do it often enough to be adept at prepping the shot. Once he got there, he had pretty decent aim, he just couldn't usually get ready before the target had moved along. Avern watched him with a calculating, but amused grin as Rhaeol finally got the arrow into placed and prepared to launch it. He pulled the string back, sighting along the arrow and let it fly. It was a true shot and the deer fell to the ground at last released from it's misery. Rhaeol started to do a bit of a victory dance, despite how it would look. And he stepped back...onto a net trap laid by a previous hunter. Avern reached out to grab him, but he wasn't fast enough and they both ended up strung upside down uncomfortably close together in a tree, looking down at their kill. The thought that crossed Rhaeol's mind was, Well, at least now I know one reason that he hates me...

[Rhaeol]

Rhaeol picked his way through the snow-dappled undergrowth, mimicking Avern's movements carefully. As much as hated to admit it, Avern actually did know what he was doing, and had a wealth of knowledge that Rhaeol could tap into. But why do I hate it, why do I have this hatred of him? he thought as he stepped stealthily over a log only to have his foot land on a twig on the other side. Avern shot a glance back at him, then whispered, "Try to watch where you're going, huh." The voice was laced with contempt, but once again, buried within those words were a couple of hints about tracking. Keep alert and focused. But also buried within those words was the answer to his question. I hate him because he hates me. Rhaeol considered this as he stepped past another twig. But that just seems so petty....No, it's true and I'm sticking to it. I hate him because he hates me. Avern motioned abruptly for him to stop. The deer was ahead stumbling painfully through the snow. "I'm going to let you take the shot. Try not to miss though, the animal's in enough pain already." It was there again, just like always, that glint of hatred that coated his cousins voice. But that same love of nature, of hunting, of being part of the wild north was there as well. Maybe there's just more to him that I've never seen before... But whydoes he hate me? I'm just as much a victim as he is... Rhaeol pulled out the bow he had borrowed from his family. One of these days he'd get his own bow, but for now this was good enough for practice. He grabbed an arrow and tried to nock the arrow. His hand wavered, but he got it on his fifth try. That was the problem with archery, he didn't do it often enough to be adept at prepping the shot. Once he got there, he had pretty decent aim, he just couldn't usually get ready before the target had moved along. Avern watched him with a calculating, but amused grin as Rhaeol finally got the arrow into placed and prepared to launch it. He pulled the string back, sighting along the arrow and let it fly. It was a true shot and the deer fell to the ground at last released from it's misery. Rhaeol started to do a bit of a victory dance, despite how it would look. And he stepped back...onto a net trap laid by a previous hunter. Avern reached out to grab him, but he wasn't fast enough and they both ended up strung upside down uncomfortably close together in a tree, looking down at their kill. The thought that crossed Rhaeol's mind was, Well, at least now I know one reason that he hates me...

[Rhaeol]

Hours had passed. The sun had reached it's Zenith and begun it's descent. They would tried to get out of the net, if there had been any room to move around. Besides that, the one knife they had had dropped to the ground as they had shot up into the tree. For the first time since they had been caught in the net, beyond several harsh words immediately after finding themselves in a tree, Avern spoke, "So...you like music...huh?" "Yep." Several minutes passed. "And hunting...it's pretty important to you?" "Uh-huh." The sun continued it's passage and ducked behind the trees. "Uh, Avern." "Yeah." "Sorry I got us stuck up in this tree." "It's alright....As much as I hate to say it....You actually did pretty good today." Rhaeol looked at his uncle for a moment, had he really just offered a compliment? "...Thanks." The sun had no nearly disappeared to let the inky blackness of night take over. Rhaeol voiced the question that had been nagging at him all day."Avern... Why do you hate me?" A few minutes passed before Avern replied, "I don't hate you. Not quite. It's just, I have a hard time accepting you. Every time I see you, I can't help but thinking that you're the reason that my sister's dead. And then I get angry at you, and then I get angry at myself... I mean, you never even knew her and she would have been your mother. It just all becomes a jumbled mess in my mind, and it all comes out as hate." "...Thanks for telling me." Rhaeol found it hard to believe that he had gone 21 years without considering the reasons behind this animosity between them. He didn't plan on being the best of friends or anything, but maybe they could have a civil conversation from time to time. As the last rays of sun disappeared, the familiar voice of Rhaeol's grandfather drifted up from below, "There you are. I see the day of hunting went well..." "Uh-huh. Excellent, now could you please get us down from here?"

[Cheshire]

. Character: Rhaeol Experience: Interrogation +2, Tracking +1, Observation +1, Musical Composition +1, Stealth +1, Weapon (Shortbow) +1, Hunting +1, Dancing +1 Lore: Stopping Bad Thoughts, Learning to Hunt, Copying Movements, Trying to Understand Hate, Getting Caught in a Trap, Additional Note: Great thread Rhaeol! If you are going to go into deep detail about Avern in other threads you are going to need to make him into an NPC which I would put into your SS thread. You would pretty much write him up like a CS but not as much detail of course. Keep up the great writing! PM me with concerns.