Just Wait (Jaeden)

[Aello]

Aello's eyes followed the two fighters, even as she bent and pulled the dagger from the fallen mage's side. She could feel her fingers curling around the hilt as her ears prickled, and her body slowly eased itself into a more natural standing position. The exchange between the two men seemed to go on for an eternity, until it finished, at which point it scarcely seemed to surpass the blink of an eye. Startled by it all, Aello couldn't seem to manage much as Jaeden approached her. She simply stared into his eyes, filled with worry it seemed, as she lazily tossed the dagger, causing it to flip around. Her fingers furled against the metal blade, softly, as she held it out to him. Waiting for him to take it back. "Of course, these are mere flesh wounds," Aello replied simply, as her eyes sparkled. She could see her hand coming forward to take it back, and giggling, she bent down, and forced it into the side of her right boot. "You don't mind, do you?" Aello asked, as she took a step closer, and raised her newly freed hand. Her palm came against Jaeden's pectoral muscle, just above his heart. She could feel it beating, faster now that he was spent. Her lips curled into a satisfied grin, as she leaned forward a little, into him. Her body dipping to provide a better view. "Considering how much women need these things. To protect themselves..." Aello's fingers fell into her palm, save for one, which lazily circled the muscle. She could feel her skin growing warm, as the rough fibers of his worn shirt tickled her skin. "I'll tell you what," she whispered, as she glanced down at the ground, her smile widening as her eyelids fell, to conceal the majority of her irises. Save for a shred of joy in the darkness. "I'll go gather all of my arrows, and meet you back at camp, ok? I can gather your bolts as well," she added, as she pulled her finger away, and pulled herself back up. Her eyes crept up until they met with Jaeden's own, as she offered another small smile before turning away. She crept silently around the war zone, nudging bodies with her foot, as she tore arrows away from flesh. Blood, spattering her as she wiped them clean on the ground, returned them to her quiver, and then compiled Jaeden's bolts for him. Last, she sheathed her daggers, before wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, and returning to camp. The girl arrived several chimes after Jaeden, but she didn't seem much to care, and soon, left the bolts by the side of their long forgotten fires. Sighing with relief, now that a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders, Aello said, "we'll let the wolves and the scavengers pick their bodies clean." There was a slight pause, "got a bone for me to pick though?" Aello asked. "Killing people really works up an appetite..." _____________________________ After having filled her belly, Aello stacked all of her things, and headed into Jaeden's infamous tent. After time spent in a place between sleep and wakefulness, utterly alone, she found herself huddling close to the woodsman, who had crept in sometime to join her. Her chest pressed tightly against his back, her arm lazily draped over his side, as he held his companion. She could vaguely make out the sound of the wind howling outside, as she dreamt somewhat fitfully, and still, felt, when she awoke in the morning, as though she had gotten the best rest she had for a long time, and would for quite awhile. Smiling to herself, at the two huddled lovers, Aello forced herself to sit up, to stretch her arms, and greet the rising sun. "Good morning," she whispered, as Red's ears prickled, and she soon, wiggled away from Jaeden's arms. "Good-bye Red," Aello whispered, as she leaned over his body, and gently kissed the fox on the cheek. She thought she could see her face warming up, growing to be the color of her name, as she glanced down at Jaeden again. She thought she could see him stirring, and smiling to herself, pulled her hands onto his side. "Don't worry love, I didn't forget you," she whispered, as she leaned down and planted a delicate kiss on his cheek as well. She could feel her lips sinking into him a moment, brushing up against his stubble. It tickled her for that instant she remained, before she pulled away, and pushed the blankets off, tucking them around his body, as she made her way out of the tent, gathered her things, and headed back out, and into the world.

[Liar]

EXPERIENCE AWARD Aello Skill Points Observation 5 Wilderness Survival 4 Leadership 4 Stealth 3 Rhetoric 3 Tracking 2 Hunting 2 Climbing 2 Negotiation 2 Philosophy 2 Persuasion 1 Intimidation 1 Investigation 1 Meditation 1 Seduction 1 Trapping 1 Subterfuge 1 Shortbow 1 Lore Let Them Come A Pit for Fires Habits of a Nightwalker Horse Identifying Herbivore Tracks Cervid Anatomy A Team’s Strength Kissing a Kelvic Preempting Trackers Masking an Aura (Partial) Blowing a Cover Avoiding a Void Notes Your use of auristics is beautiful, but alas I couldn’t give you any for them since you’ve maxed. I gave you Masking an Aura (Partial) because you seem to have learned how to do it, even though this time you failed. You can get the (Partial) tag removed by doing this successfully. Jaeden Kincade Skill Points Observation 5 Wilderness Survival 4 Leadership 4 Trapping 3 Teaching 3 Negotiation 3 Persuasion 2 Hunting 2 Stealth 2 Longsword 2 Philosophy 1 Seduction 1 Massage 1 Longbow 1 Cooking 1 Investigation 1 Field Dressing 1 Body Building 1 Subterfuge 1 Lore Depending on Red’s Senses A Pit for Fires The Talents of Chaon Identifying Blueberries Cervid Anatomy Preparing a Defense Preempting Trackers Practical Uses of Body Heat An Aurist’s Overgiving Fooling an Aurist Suddenly, Sparrows Bryson’s Wrath Gnosis One piece of Jaeden’s Hapchance mark has disappeared. Notes You mentioned something about Red shifting many times in a row, to distract enemies, but that’s simply not possible for Kelvics. On the other hand, Jaeden’s hesitance towards magic, despite his innate knowledge, is refreshing. :) More Notes You’ve both got great characters and good chemistry, and it was fun to watch them work off of each other. That said, I might like to see the sheer amount of detail in these posts cut back a little. Many of them could have been more concise, and you would have improved the flow of the story without sacrificing the points you ended up earning. As a rule, I generally don’t award Tactics points. You did a lot of discussion here, so I split your award up into things like Leadership, Negotiation, Philosophy, and Wilderness Survival, as well as one or two tactic-based lores. If you are specifically collecting Tactics points, feel free to PM me requesting them. As you know, the wilds are especially dangerous for someone who has a bounty on their head. Taking this into consideration, it seemed a little silly to me that they waited until morning to act on all of the preemptive measures they discussed, when trackers could be upon them at any time, and slept the night without watch shifts. I docked one point each in Wilderness Survival for this, but I’d be happy to give it back to you with a valid argument over PM. Overall though, this was an entertaining and informative thread. Good work, guys.