The Art of Learning [Blitz]

[Levi Athan]

Day 45 of Spring, AV 512 Dusk, approaching darkness

Everyday in Mizahar was a challenge to survive. You could go anywhere and find this to be true. The Inarta had the volcano, the epicenter of the Djed Storm's beginning, and harsh hunting conditions. The Drykas has to always move, they died young to the predators of the plains, and often faced drought and dry-spells. Sunberthans had to literally fight each other to survive. Riverfall had to face the inability of producing children with their own race. Myrians ate each other. And so on. In Zeltiva, they were starving. Literally, starving. Levi had the pangs of hunger biting at his chest, a dull chronic ache that would not easily pass. He had food, but he was rationing what little he had. That's the only reason he was better off than most. Supplies simply could not be obtained here. Levi could only assume Blitz was finding rats or birds to munch on. He'd be the lucky one if he was. Still, the duo was a tenacious sort. One might say they rubbed off on each other, if they weren't naturally so similar. They both knew what they needed to do if they were going to break away from this life of constant hunger. They needed to leave, but they couldn't just walk from the city and be free from their situation. It took time, effort, and above all, planning and preparation. Today, today was one large first step in their plans. The kindling to their inferno. Someday they would have ships and business would be marvelous, but today, they merely needed to start, to get back into the groove that Levi had once started. Levi knelt down, putting his emerald eyes level with Blitz's nose. "Today's the day. We need to fill our pockets soon, and we need to get the petch out of this city. We won't make it here long. Use your nose, see if you can't find me a woman who cleans herself daily. That's going to be our target today." Yes, hunting of the prey, that's what Blitz was familiar with. There were few better ways to find a potential Slave-Prostitute than using his nose to find someone who cared for their physical attraction. Yet, Levi knew the game well. He had been working it for over ten years now, despite many of those years being failures or unprofitable. Blitz was a great dog, a Kelvic, and very intelligent. Levi trusted him not to find someone and instantly tear into them. No, they needed someone captured alive, and preferably unscathed. So, the very first step of the Slave Business was to find your victim. That's where they were now, which by the way was still not as easy as one might think. Despite the sky already a bloody-orange from the failing sun and rising moon, the streets still had people here and there, working and complaining about the food shortage. It simply wasn't easy to find, track, and remain inconspicuous when so many people were about. Well, Levi was going to leave Blitz to it. As Levi's companion took off, be it slow or quickly, he would follow (to the best of his ability should the dog's chosen speed be a full on canine-dash). A man chasing his dog, luckily, was nothing to be suspicious of.

[Blitz]

Hunger gnawed angrily at his stomach and he ignored it. It wasn't the first time he'd go hungry and likely wouldn't be the last. It was just life. Sometimes you caught prey and sometimes you didn't. This was one of those times when the food was rare and swift, usually waiting til moon rise to show themselves. He could wait. Blitz had patience in abundance. His human had shared what he had and Blitz had done the same for him. They went through it all. Together. And that always made times like this easier. Man and dog were equally dirty, hungry, thirsty and getting more desperate. But these were also the times that brought them closest. Each knew without a doubt they could count on the other to work hard and do their fair share. Levi knelt to speak to him, as always looking him directly in the eyes to get the dog's attention. The man's tone was urgent, as desperate as both of their appetites. Soon he'd said. That meant to hurry. Use your nose-tracking! Blitz wagged his tail in growing excitement. He liked tracking. Woman. Clean. A female and water. The large ebony dog blinked at Levi's direct stare, showing he comprehended submissively. All of the words together made no sense at all, but the strong pitch of the voice and a few oft repeated words were all he needed to know to do what made Levi happy. Blitz barked softly, more of a conversational moof to let his human know to follow. He lifted his nose to the dusky sky and licked it a few times, then opened his mouth slightly to catch any stray scent better. The dog stood still as a rock for a chime, sifting through the breeze. His large, mobile ears turned front and back alternatively. 'Female human!' He thought as a faint odor wafted through the air, teasing the fur around his whiskers. Blitz was off! The evening breeze was fitful, coming in short gusts and spurts, making direction hard to track by scent. He leaped over a series of broken cobbles, cantering through the ever growing shadows, his eyes catching the dying light with an eerie glow. He stopped abruptly, pouncing on a female's sandal and scooped it up in his jaws. The large black dog raced back to Levi, not that far behind and caught his eyes briefly. The dog dropped it at Levi's feet, showing him the trail. It almost never worked, but daily, he tried to train his human's senses to smell, hear and listen better. Done with that, he turned on a swift paw and followed the scent as it lingered low over brush and the tops of the sparse grass. A woman's skirt had brushed over these recently, scattering scent molecules that would last till the next rain. The smell was stronger here. He paused in his swift gait to linger over what looked like broken stems and disturbed earth. This was significant for a find. Among the many people, dirty streets and milling crowds, someone had left a strong scent marker on something natural. He sniffed it again, releasing the scent back through his lower nostrils so as not to disturb the original. A female human's hand had taken up some herbs in foraging, leaving behind faint traces of personal aroma. No water scent yet, but he'd noticed that women seemed to be a cleaner species than most others so he didn't worry on that over much. 'Young. Female. This is the scent that Levi wants me to find.' Blitz looked over his shoulder to be sure that his human was watching nearby, following and observing that he was a gooddog.

[Levi Athan]

oocSorry it's short. I didn't know what else to do. You said you had something you wanted to do so I tried not to interfere with your plans. Initially, Levi was beyond pleased that Blitz had so eagerly started his hunt, and even more so that a scent was found so damned swiftly. The dog threw himself into a wild dash, as Levi had only partially expected, and with a rare grin on his face, he ran with all the speed his body could muster to follow the dog.Through the streets, grass, and wherever else Blitza would lead him. Yet he lost him. Blitz was a damned fast creature, yes dogs were fast, but Levi could have sworn he was so much quicker than most. Perhaps it was because Blitz had purpose and motivation. Such factors turned men into monsters, why not beasts into limitless machines? Levi scanned the area, by now he was walking and gasping for air. Running was not something that was naturally easy for him. His fitness was poor at best, nonexistent was more likely. It wouldn't take long for Blitz to reappear with footwear, a sandal. Levi smiled with that red face already speckled with moisture and reached up with one hand to take grip of his thick black beard. "Tell me the trail doesn't end here." Levi picked up the sandal, assumed there was either a second to match the pair, or Blitz was chasing a one-legged girl. Regardless, someone was fairly close. The Kelvic darted off once again, leaving Levi to pant and jog in the general direction he saw his bondmate running. Every now and then Levi observed the Kelvic Canine pausing to sniff a bush, a patch of grass, or even peer back at him as if making sure he was still there. He was there, just quickly losing pace. This running, it was torture. Couldn't Blitz have found someone closer? Finally, Blitz paused so that Levi could catch up. Levi hunched over, placing his hands on his knees as he gasped violently for air. "Blitz... are... we almost... almost there?" Levi stood up tall and ran a boney hand across his face, doing his best to wipe that bearded face clear of sweat, which was mostly pointless. He gave the Kelvic a quick patting on the head. He'd have to remember to give him a slice of pork when they were finished. "Lead on."

[Blitz]

The scent was definitely stronger in this part of the city and he trotted steadily for a ways. Blitz made a quick left turn into an alleyway, saw the girl child and turned back to Levi. He knew not to disturb the prey unless he was commanded to do so. His owner might want him to posture with a saddog, hurt paw dog, big tough dog, or just a solid hold. It never occurred to him to try and understand why Levi wanted what he did; only that he obeyed and pleased the leader. Levi finally came into sight, smelling strongly of sweat, his own personal odor coming strongly off him in waves. It didn't bother Blitz really. Scents were identification. There were no 'bad' scents truly. Strongly over powering scents that made his nose hurt weren't fun. But rotting refuse, human body odor or animal scat weren't unpleasant to the dog. He wagged his tail in anticipation of a pat on the head and a highly coveted Gooddog! from Levi when he finally got to see the prey. In profile, the pretty little girl stood behind a barrel and her golden curls and big green eyes were lovely. She hummed tunelessly in a high voice, in a world of her own making. Then she moved from behind the shoulder high water barrel in full view. The young girl had an ugly scar running down the left side of her face from ear to chin and stood on one twisted foot with the aid of crutches. She clutched a ragged dandelion by the roots. She dunked it in the rain barrel up and down to clean off the dirt and shook off the excess water. There. Water and female child. Blitz puffed up his chest with pride at a tracking job well done. He'd accomplished everything he was told to do! Levi had asked for a young female with water and Blitz eagerly awaited his praise for finding them both-and so quickly! His heavy tail thumped the ground and he looked up at Levi with a tongue lolling smile, awaiting what commands would be next.

[Levi Athan]

Levi had been reduced nearly to a swift purposeful walk as he finally caught up with the Kelvic, Blitz. He grinned as he realized the dog was understanding the situation very well. He knew the type of target they wanted, and he knew not to cause mayhem unless commanded to do so. Hell, the dog was silent. Levi didn't even look at the target before he stepped behind the corner, ensuring that neither he nor Blitz would be seen, and gave the Kelvic a swift scratch behind the ears. "Nice work, Blitz. Very nice work." Perhaps, he should have saved the praises until he saw the actual prey. As Levi peeked around the corner, he saw the girl far down the alley. She was younger than he originally intended, but she was still plenty enough woman to please some wealthy aged man in Sunberth, or perhaps a future mother to some lucky Akalak son. Golden hair, as gorgeous as Syna's darkening light, was also an attractive feature to many men. Yes, she was a good target. At least, from a skewed distant view she was. Levi ducked behind the corner again and knelt down to face Blitz, a wicked smirk was stretched across Levi's bearded face. "Yes, very good. Blitz, I need your help again. Be hurt. Uh, paw, wounded, hurt." Levi grimaced as he tried to think of a way to get Blitz to understand that he needed to feign injury. Levi reached down and took Blitz's paw in his hand, and held it up as a dog would hold a sensitive. How hard it was to explain to a dog such requests. "Hurt. Whimper, whine, cry. Be a baby and draw her to me. Go, now go." Levi gave Blitz one more scratch behind the ear before giving him a gentle nudge towards the alleyway. Hopefully he understood what was asked of him. Act hurt, draw her to Levi, and let master take care of the rest. After Blitz was sent off on his mission, Levi took the time to stake out the area. It was a quiet street, thanks to the fading daylight, he'd be able to do just about anything, within reason, and still avoid the eyes and ears of people. Now, that being said, he couldn't allow the girl to scream, or even so much as suspect his motives. He needed to lure her somewhere, out of town, to an abandoned home devastated by the djed storm earlier this season. From there he could make the jump, and surely Blitz would keep her too afraid to so much as mutter a word of resistance. The plan was basic, but he was confident it would work. For now, all he had to do was wait for his target to be led to him. He was so very curious to see her up close too.

[Arcane]

GradingFor Levi Athan obviously, since Blitz is retired.

Rewards and Treasure! Experience Points +2 Leadership +1 Observation +2 Running +1 Teaching Lores n/a Miscellaneous None Comments PIty it was cut short, I was waiting to that "comical turn" mentioned to no avail I can't think of lores to give for this thread, so do let me know if you want anything specific. Good thinking on the portrayal of famine in the aftermath of the Djed Storm