Field Trip (Jaeden & Sam)

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

17th Spring, 510 A.V.

It was just after dawn, but Sam was awake, leaning against Horse for warmth and yawning fit to crack his jaw. He had managed to be ready, though, his tent struck, and now he just went through his saddlebags making sure he had everything that he needed: new hunting knife, five silvers; animal snare, bird, two gold mizas; animal snare, small, five gold mizas; preserving kit, same. That put him back twelve gold mizas and five silver, but he was fairly sure that they would more than pay for themselves soon.

Nodding to himself, he glanced toward the gates to see if any familiar figures were coming out into the thin morning light. He yawned again.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden suddenly appeared behind Sam as he was yawn, giving a surprising poke to the back of his head. “Be sure you cover your mouth when doing that in the wild,” Jaeden remarked of Sam’s yawn. “You never know what sort of bug might fly in there. Not all of them are edible.” Jaeden stood there behind Sam, looking down as he observed the weariness in his eyes. A slow nudge of his head was given towards the road as a slight smirk sharpened the corner of Jaeden’s mouth. “Come on, it’s about two chimes of the bell’s distance to where I set up camp, and the critters are crawling like crazy today.”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam laughed at the poke to his head and the quip about inedible bugs. He countered with, "That's two chimes you can be in the saddle, getting used to it. Oh, and I got some things; snares, a hunting knife, and stuff. But I'm going to have to save up for a good bow. It seems like something that should be of good quality, so I'll have to just see when I can afford it..."

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden gave a slow nod as he looked at the horse hesitantly for a moment. “Good,” Jaeden replied to Sam’s list of purchases. “you can put them to good use out in the lands. Birds are harder to catch with snares than other small game, but not impossible.” Jaeden then slowly stepped up to the horse, gradually letting the large animal smell the back of his hand once again in practice. If for no other reason, he did so to simply keep the habit up for when he would eventually purchase his own horse. He then grabbed the horn of the saddle, his other hand settling on the other end. His foot slid into the stirrup before a quick hop found him slipping his leg over Horse’s back. Jaeden then settled comfortably into the saddle as his other foot hooked into it’s respective stirrup. A slow nod was then given as he stared down at the back of Horse’s neck, grabbing the reigns. “Alright then, we’ll be taking the southern road towards the forests for about a mile and a half before we head into the forest.” Jaeden informed Sam as he turned the horse slightly. “Grab your blade and strap it to your waist. It’s not likely that we’ll run into slavers or bandits, but just in case….”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Better safe than sorry," he agreed, unstrapping his scimitar from the saddle and reattaching it to his person.

He smiled approvingly at Jaeden's seat in the saddle; it was getting a bit more comfortable. Figuring the man needed time to get really comfortable before trying any other gait, he just started walking toward the southern road. Horse followed at a leisurely, slow walk.

"Well, I'd better be able to catch a bird in the snare because it cost money!"

[Jaeden Kincade]

“Well, as birds stay in the air most of the time, and don’t move that much while on their feet,“ Jaeden responded looking down to Sam for a moment, “the best way to usually snare them is to create a weak perch for them to land on with a snare resting on it, and then add a little bait. It‘s more difficult than catching a running animal with a snare, but it does work from time to time.” Jaeden kept his gaze shifting back between the back of Horse’s head and the area they traveled. One of his hands remained firmly on the horn of the saddle while the other held the reigns lightly, the end dangling from his fingers. Every now and then his body would begin to teeter to one side of the horse, his balance beginning to sway. “We’ll begin by setting up snares and then we’ll track down some bigger prey after. If there’s time, we may even do a little fishing.”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"And Horse can carry stuff for us. I mean, if we catch anything large." He sighed in envy, glancing at Jaeden's bows, and tried to pass it off as another yawn as he walked along beside Horse. "Oh, fishing stuff I have, too. Got me through some thin times."

There was that winter with the ice fishing, and that time with the river trying to catch salmon with his bare hands or thwacking them mid-leap with his scimitar, trying to knock them to shore. But usually he used his equipment.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden gave a slow nod. “There’s a small pond that’s about a half mile east of where I set up camp,” Jaeden commented. “It’s likely to be stocked with catfish, bass and carp.” Jaeden once again began teetering to the side, this time almost falling off the horse as his left leg extended outward, trying to counter the weight that swayed him more to the right. Horse, however, came to a stop. That last sudden halt being all that was needed for Jaeden to finally fall off out of the saddle and down to the ground with a dull thud. “Okay, I’m suddenly thinking about grabbing my rope and lashing myself onto that saddle.”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam blinked at the sudden fall; it came so fast he couldn't react to help Jaeden stay on his seat. He crouched down to help him up, knowing Horse wouldn't wander too far.

"You're really good at that. Falling, I mean. Remember, grip with your legs. They're stronger than your arms or your hands. That's why they're bigger. And letting him smell you is partially to develop a rapport, but that means you have to pay attention to his little signals too."

He shook his head after helping Jaeden up off the ground and dusting him off.

"But you're not allowed to fall off a horse without getting back on so... Do that and then tell me how this nearby pond doesn't get overfished with so many people hereabouts."

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden groaned slightly, rubbing his ass as a wince crossed his face. With a slight grumble, he pulled himself back up into the saddle, doing as Sam had instructed. “Not many people know about the pond,” Jaeden said as Horse began to move along once again. “Point in fact, not many even know their way around the forests. Most would rather stick to the roads to avoid the dangers of the wild life within. There’s more than just deer, bird and varmints after all.” Jaeden then pulled lightly along the reigns as Horse began moving into the forest. “On that note, it’s likely a good idea to keep the saddle, reigns and bit off of Horse here when we travel to hunt. That way he can escape any predators with little burden.”