[Flashback] Even Pups Bite(Miharu)

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden let a slow chuckle escape his lips as a made his way back over towards the fire, his shirt now clinging heavily over his frame as it still dripped with the water it had soaked up. A light hearted smile crossed his lips as he crouched down, grabbing the skewer as he turned the meat slightly over the fire. "Yeah, I know. Right?" Jaeden simply said before standing once again as he made his way towards his pack. "This thing?" Jaeden then said as he slowly looked down to his sword. "I rarely ever actually pull it free from it's sheath unless I'm left with no other alternative. I don't really like fighting all that much. In the end, blind luck and avoidance tends to get me through a lot of the day, but not all the time." Jaeden the slowly lifted the front of his shirt to reveal the fading scar that lined his abdomen. It wasn't easy to catch anymore, but there if someone was looking for it. "Nearly died that day," Jaeden explained. "Slavers." The front of his shirt was then dropped back down before he began digging his hands into his pack again, soon retrieving the rolled up hemp cloth that made up the shelter of his tent. Spreading the pieces out over the open area, he then began pitching the tent up.

[Miharu Mindi]

She watched him wrestle with his tent a few moments, eyes gone wide as the blush receded from her cheeks and took all its color with it.

"Slavers?" she asked quietly, her voice suddenly just as small as her. "What... I mean, I... I've heard tell of slavers, but I didn't think they were actually..."

Hadn't been a problem in the village she'd grown up in. Had never seen a slave, or a slaver. They were bogiemen to her, tales spun in warning with no evidence ever seen.

[Jaeden Kincade]

He remained crouched there along the ground, hammering a spike into the ground as he looked up to Miharu. He just gave a slow nod. "Yeah, they exist," Jaeden explained. "They mainly look for stragglers on the main roads and campers or hunters in the wild. I don't think they'd come up here though. The wildlife here would likely pose too much of a risk to them." Jaeden soon had the tent set up as he slowly reached up, grasping the center post tugging on it slightly to test it's strength. "I'll give this advice to you if you do travel out of these woods sometime," Jaeden then said looking to Miharu. "If you're taking the main roads, try to travel with a group. If you're alone, stick to areas where people can't sneak up on you easily and try to keep your path as such so you can smell things coming from downwind. Slavers usually travel in groups too, so if you encounter them, it's best to just run." Jaeden then turned his attention back to the meath. He reached to his waist, pulling out his cooking knife as he poked it into the meat, pushing the hole open as he checked how far it had been cooked. Giving a slow nod, he moved to his backpack once more, pulling some plates out from it. Slicing some of the meat away, he then held out Miharu's portion towards her. "I'm not grand cook," Jaeden then said with a smile, "but it won't make you sick."

[Miharu Mindi]

She remained a little pale at the thought of slavers - men who actually stole you away, put you in chains, forced you into bondage. She took the plate automatically, some remnants of civilized life taking over while her mind reeled away from thoughts of cages and cruelty.

She wrinkled her nose a little at the scent of the cooked meat, but it wasn't entirely unappetizing to her human nose. She shoved a piece in her mouth and chewed it thoughtfully, rolling it around on her tongue, and then swallowed.

And smiled, warm and friendly, her entire demeanor changed in just that instant. "Hell, that ain't half bad," she said, surprise clear in her voice. And then proceeded to shovel the rest of it in so quickly she barely had time to chew. And then licked her fingers clean, and followed that by licking all the juices from her plates until there wasn't a speck left.

Once she finished, she just dropped the plate to the ground and bounded to her feet, then skipped back over to the berry bushes Jaeden had explored earlier. Instead of the berries, though, she stripped two handfuls of newly-budding leaves from the bottom of the shoots, then padded back over to her pack. She dug out the waterskin and refilled it, then settled in front of the fire once more.

"Have you travel far beyond the Reach?" she asked, curiosity warming her towards him. The leaves were deveined and shoved into her mouth a few at a time, chewed thoroughly, and then spat back into her hand. She then rinsed her mouth with the clean water as she pressed the poltice against her beaten legs, covering the emerging bruises. Chew, spit, rinse, repeat.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden gave a slow smile, setting his meat down along his own plate as he looked at her. "Well, I'm glad you liked it. I'll cook some more later then," Jaeden said as he rose from knelt position. He soon made his way over next to Miharu, sitting himself down next to her. He left some space between them, however. Mainly it was so she wouldn't get that knee jerk reaction to bit him again. He slowly began slicing away at the meat, cutting a small slice away with his cooking knife before poking the sliver with the tip of the knife and slipping it into his mouth. Slow chews were taken as he rose a brow, considering the taste. It wasn't anything that could be enjoyed at a tavern or eatery, but it didn't force a gag reflex. So he was improving little, by little. He then pointed the knife towards the river. "Perhaps I'll see if I can't catch some fish for a meal later this evening," Jaeden then suggested before cutting another piece of meat away. Chewing his food thoroughly, he gave a slow shrug. "I've been wandering for close to seven years now even since I finished training under the one who took me in when I lost my family," Jaeden replied, "but I haven't explored much of the southern lands and certain other areas if they looked to inhospitable. I may blindly roam, but once I realize I'm in a new region, I tend to make a judgement call right then and there if I should stick around."

[Miharu Mindi]

She watched him, and glanced to the river when he pointed, but didn't bother telling him she didn't much like fish. Maybe she did, and just didn't know it. She'd try it if he caught some.

"You've been wandering for that long?" she asked, surprised. "Wow. Well. I've never left the Reaches. One day maybe I will," she said with an unconcerned shrug. But as she rearranged her legs closer to the fire, it also scooched her closer to him. Just a few inches, but it made her more comfortable for some reason.

"Do you need this?" she asked suddenly, eyes widening as she realized she hadn't asked. "I didn't smell any blood on you, but I don't know if you have any bruises. I could make some for you," she mumbled.

[Jaeden Kincade]

He slowly looked down to what she offered, before slowly shaking his head. "No, I'm not injured, but thank you all the same," Jaeden replied setting his now empty plate down. "Whatever remedies you have should be saved for your legs. They're likely to be soar in the morning even with certain herbal remedies." Jaeden then leaned back, his arms stretching slightly behind him as his palms rested along the ground. He gazed upwards, noting the position of the sun through what he could discern through the thick canopy of the trees. He then looked back down, noting her proximity to him. He took a slow inhale, remembering that old man in the cabin named Falkorn, and his brief talk about a Kelvic bonding. It was too soon of course, but Jaeden would have to keep an eye and make sure it didn't lead to such. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy company, but to have another individual totally devoted to him as a Kelvic would? Well, such would be disheartening to him, oddly enough. They would throw their lives away for those they had bonded with, and for some, that might be acceptable. For Jaeden it wasn't. He didn't want anyone throwing away their lives, especially not just for him. "Well, if you do plan to leave eventually," Jaeden then said, breaking the silence. "It might be a good idea to learn to defend yourself while in your human form."

[Miharu Mindi]

She looked down at the mush in her hands, and just wiped it over another patch of her pale leg. Another quick sip of water to rinse the last taste of it out of her mouth, and then a bit to rinse her hands. Her tongue was mostly numb, and her fingertips and palm tingled, but the bitter taste was almost gone. She picked up his plate and began licking that clean, too, to get the last of it out.

"My daddy taught me how to fight," she said a little defensively, curling the cloak a smidge closer around her shoulders. "I mean, not with a sword or anything, but it ain't like I can really carry that around. But he taught me how to throw a punch."

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden raised a hand to slowly rub his chin as he looked to her. "That's better than no skill at all," Jaeden replied. "Perhaps after you're healed a little more I can help you train it up a bit. While I don't have skill in hand to hand combat, I can grab a small stick and use it as a mock sword. At the very least, it will help you to better understand how you should react if someone with ill intent decides to actually attack you with one." Jaeden reached to his sides, slowly working the straps that held his sword to his belt free. Pulling the sword and sheath off, he then laid it along his pack before reaching into a small pouch, pulling free his own waterskin. Popping the top off as it dangled freely from the leather string that attached it to the waterskin itself, he slowly tipped his head back, squeezing the bottle itself as he to a long pull from it.

[Miharu Mindi]

"Maybe," she said, no promise in it. "But if there's enough room between us for them to draw a sword, there's enough room for me to run away. And then follow them, and come back the next night while they're asleep and chew their faces off."

Another smile flashed for a moment, not because she was particularly murderous but because she thought that was a damn fine idea. Why fight them on their terms? She was a hunter - let her get away, and then stalk them like prey and make sure they didn't live to hurt another.

"But if you want to practice, I can teach you a little," she said with a shrug. "Everyone should at least know how to throw a punch. That way you can at least stun 'em long enough to get away."