Camping by the Bay (Aela)

[Vaas]

As the wagon rolls to a stop, Wind Dancer lifts his head up and starts looking around at the scenery around him. Long ago this logging camp housed around twenty Deks working to provide lumber for Thunder Bay and the citizens of Wind Reach. Wind Dancer eager to explore the camp flies from the wagon, over to the top of the old crumbling chimney, and stares down at the crumbling foundation below him. The shell of the barrack resembled one large room. The floor must have been made out of dirt because the undergrowth as taken over the interior of the structure. All that remains is a few other stone structures like a wood burning stove that is covered in a rusted grill, a large fire pit surrounded by a ring of twenty small boulders. He notices inside a larger ring of boulders is a smaller ring of rocks bordering a shallow pit. As he looks behind him, and he notices a trail leading to a dug out stream leading to the bay. Suddenly, Wind Dancer notices movement in the tall grass near the tree line, and he starts chirping quietly to himself. Before he take off in pine canopy

Malvarin stops the wagon, spits on the ground, and turns around on his bench. He smiles at the Aela and says to Vaas, “I overheard you two talking about a old lumber grove when we started this trip. I figure sense we were making decent time. I could drop you two off here before heading to Thunder Bay.” He looks at Aela and says, “Girl. If you take the road, I took you to get here. It will lead you to Thunder Bay if you keep going straight on it. If you go right, it will lead you to the city. It about four miles to town. Both of you should be fine if you stay to the road.” Malvarin looks at Vaas and smirks, “Enjoy your days off both of you if I remember the deks used that stream behind the back of the barracks to float logs to the bay. If you follow the stream, it will lead you to the bay.” Malvarin says to them with a grin, “Anyways I need to go and get this seed to the fields. By the way, it will be eight pinions for my trouble.”

Vaas crawls to his backpack and pulls out eight glass coins. Once he has the coins, he crawls back to the large man, hands him the money, and says, “I'll remember your generosity next time, Malvarin. You went above and beyond what I paid you for.” Malvarin nods to him and says to Aela, “Don't let him get eaten by a bear. He a pretty good singer.” Malvarin turns to Vaas and says, “Next time Vaas I'll teach you some good old fashion drinking songs. Your talents are wasted on children songs.” Vaas nods to Malvarin and says with a grin, “You have to start somewhere Mal. Anyways we should let you go.” Vaas crawls to his backpack and staff, grabs both of them, and hopes down on the soft grass.

Once Vaas is on the soft ground, he puts large back on the ground, and looks up at Aela with a smile, offers her a hand, and says, “Shall we set up camp Aela? I figure you would like to hunt before night fall.”

[Alori Sai]

Once the wagon had come to a full stop, Aela looked around, it didn't look as she thought it would and she realized then that she had never been there before. She looked up and saw Wind Dancer fly off his perch to survey the area. Looking back she noticed that the driver was once again talking to them. He was a strange man to say the least and when they started the trip she had no idea that someone who seemed like a total dek-wad could be helpful in the end. "Who is he calling girl? I have a name and..never mind, I won't tell him." While he and Vaas discussed the fee for the trip, she moved to the end of the wagon and began to collect her sleeping back and bow. As the two continued to talk, she stared back over her shoulder in confusion. "So they're friends now? Leave it to Vaas to make friends with a dek-wad." From that moment she ignored the rest of their conversation and wrestled with her stuff. By this time Vaas had jumped off the wagon and was now reaching out to help her down. With a jovial smirk drawn across her lips, she pushed her sleeping bag into his arms then hopped down with her bow. The area looked rich with history, and maybe that was mostly due to the fact that she had just heard about it moments ago from the driver of the wagon. Still, it seemed like a good spot to camp and even Vaas's friend had said as much. "Okay...Let's set up camp." She agreed thinking that this was as good a place to settle in as any. Aela parted her lips, a light yawn escaped as almost a whisper and she arched her back as she stretched her arms above her head. It was evening now and the sun was set high into the sky. There was still some time before it would began to set and she wanted to take a look at the area before she started to hunt. She couldn't be sure what they would run into once it was dark and it was better to check the lay out now and be safe. "I'm going to look around, he said there was a stream behind the barracks right?" Lifting her bow over her shoulders, she slipped it back between the straps on her backpack to hold it in place. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny string with two glass beads attached to it. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, she wrapped the beaded string around it to hold it. There wasn't enough time for her to fix her hair into a braid so that would have to do.

[Vaas]

"I'm going to look around, he said there was a stream behind the barracks right?"

Starting to rummage through his pack, Vaas pulls out his tent, looks towards the sound of her voice, and smiles at her, “Yes the stream is behind the barracks. I'll set up camp Aela have fun exploring, and try not to get eaten by a bear.” His smile shifts to a impish grin towards her, and he grabs his the tent bag and his staff. He stands up, takes a deep breath, and stretches in the evening sun. He starts walking through the grass using his staff to navigate the unknown terrain by waving the staff in a wide arch at the ground. When his staff hits object. He stops and examines the item. This item his staff hit was hard, Vaas walks over to it, and he puts down his bag and feels around the rounded edges. It was feels like a large rock. He stands up and gently starts walking tapping the direction of the last rock he found and notices the large rocks make a circular perimeter.

He makes back to the rock where he put his tent bag down, and he decides grab his tent bag and tosses over the rock. He feels the top of the stone and notices it about three feet high. He pulls himself over the rock and jumps down to the other side. From this rock, Vaas walks slowly fifteen feet to another smaller rock, and he glides his staff around the ring of smaller rocks. He sticks his staff into the ring of rocks and notices the ground is not even with the rest of the ground beyond the ring.

Thinking to himself this must be a fire ring. He back tracks to his tent bag and unties the bag. He takes out the tent and unrolls it on the ground. After unrolling the tent, Vaas walks back to the bag and feels around in the bag and finds four two feet poles. He feels around one of the poles and notices the holes at one end is slightly bigger than the other end, so he picks up another pole and slides the smaller end into the larger end until fits tightly. He does it to the other two poles. He sets them off to the side of the tent, and feels the surface of the canvas and notices two holes on top of the tent and bottom of the tent. He walks around to the other side and feels around with his hand and notices the same two hole on the other side too. He figures that the pole goes through both holes to hold up the tent. He goes to the tent bag and feels around the bag, finds six stakes, and two rolled up coils of rope. He takes the stakes out of the bag, and moves the tent to the most even part of the ground. Feeling around the edges of the tent Vaas finds small loops at the corners. He puts a stake in the loop and pounds it into the ground with his staff. He repeats for the other three stakes. After the stakes are in place, he puts the pole through the holes and uncoils the rope and notices it only six feet long. He ties it to the top of the pole and stretches out till it is tight, ties rope to the stake, and pounds it into the ground. He repeats on the other side till he is finished setting up the tent.

He stands up and stretches wiping the sweaty hair from his face and placing it behind his ears. He grabs his back pack and unhooks the sleeping bag. He walks to the front of the tent, kneels down next to it, and unties the two flaps. He tosses the sleeping bag into the tent and crawls into it. Once he is inside the tent, he notices it is kind of small for two people, and he swears to himself and puts his head in his hands and laughs out loud, “Petch!I got the one man tent..”

[Alori Sai]

Aela glanced over her shoulder at him and shook her head. Although she saw the grin and knew that he was joking, it wasn't the best of his jokes and not something to say to someone who was still new to the hunt. She walked past the firepit and around the barracks to find the stream. Behind the barracks there was a thin grassy strip and to the other side of it was the stream. It was a narrow stream with clear flowing water for as far as she could see. She stood there for a moment and looked around before she started to walk again. As she moved further down the stream, she noticed that fish were now swimming in the stream. It wasn't surprising since the stream lead directly into the bay, but there was something different about these fish. While some were average silver, or gray colored fish, others were of a strange multiply colored and somewhat bigger than the other fish swimming around them. "Were these fish mutated like those other animals?" Aela smiled thinking that this was a good opportunity to catch dinner and make a few pinions. She leaned down and rolled her Bryda up into itself and pulled it tightly just above both knees. Sitting down on the ground, she unlaced of her boots and took them off so that they wouldn't get wet when she entered the water. Standing back up, she reached over her shoulder and pulled out a single barbed hooked arrow and moved into the stream. Leaning down again, she watched the fish as they swam about under the cool waters and down the stream. It would take quick timing and a persist jab if she wanted to catch them. She watched their motions for a bit and tried to predict which way they would move before doing anything. After observing them for moments more, she was ready and swiftly stabbed the arrow into the water. The fish quickly slipped under the arrow and continued on it's way. Not to be defeated easily, Aela stabbed at the next fish that swam by and then the next. "Come on you little stinkers." She grumbled, shaking her head as attempt after attempt failed. "Okay fine, now I'm going to have to go Endal on you." She smiled as she pulled a second barbed hooked arrow from her quiver and readied herself for another round. Again she began stabbing into the waters at the fish swimming below. While her first two tries failed, her third and followed by her fourth were a success. "Now that's more like it!" Aela grinned and pulled the fish higher onto the fletching to hold more and continued to catch fish. Once she was finished and had two silver fish on each arrow and a multiply colored fish between the two on each arrow, Aela took her boots and made her way back up the stream to find the camp. She returned with a cheerful smile, an arrow of fish in both hands and a renewed bounce to her step, causing her ponytail to sway lively on the back of her head. Once she made her way back around the barracks, she was surprised to see that Vaas had already set up the tent. "I'm back and I brought dinner. I hope you like fish?" As she walked closer to him and to the tent, she realized how small it was which explained the nervous look on his face. "Oh..Well you should take it. I mean, it's your tent." Aela pouted and curved her lips to try and blow the strains of loose hair away from her eyes. "I hope it doesn't rain."

[Vaas]

Disgusted with the fact he bought a one person tent. Vaas decides to a fire before night fall. He walks over to the inner ring of stones and kneels down next to the abandoned fire pit. He waves his hands over the ring and he notices the blades of grass are quite tall. He frowns to himself and thinks how he going to start a fire without setting the forest on fire? Should he just wait for Aela to come back? He sighs to himself, shakes his head, and says to himself, “No, if I going to become a Avora Falconer. I need to learn how to do this on my own.” With this last thought, he jumps in the tall grass and starts yanking at the grass out of the pit. It takes him fifteen minutes to clear the pit of grass, and he decides to take a break from his labor.

Sitting on the rock, Vaas starts humming a tune to himself, and he stands up from the rock. He walks over to his staff, picks it up, and walks to the outer edge of the stone circle. When his staff hits the boulder, Vaas puts his hand over the top of the boulder and pulls himself over. Once he is over the rock, he decides to walk forward hoping this direction would lead him to the edge of the forest. Vaas notices the grass is slightly taller and thicker outside the stone circle, and he occasionally trips over the uneven ground and rocks sticking out of the dirt.

Eventually Vaas makes it to the edge of the grove, and the tall grass gives way to short undergrowth. Before Vaas can make it to into the forest, Vaas walk straight into a low hanging branch. He swears to himself at his stupidity as the pain in brings tears to his eyes. He rubs his forehead till the pain goes away. He decides to kneel under the tree and feels the ground for twigs and large branches. As he feels the ground, he finds all sorts of different size pieces of wood scattered under the tree. He figure the Djed Storm winds must have knocked the branches from the tree. Once Vaas gathers a armful twigs, he brings them back to the fire pit and sets them off to the side.

This time he decides to walks into the forest holding staff at head height; however, when he makes it to the forest edge. He trips over a root on the ground and falls into the low hanging branch again. He just sits there for a second, shaking his head, and asks himself, “Are the trees trying to kill me?” He sits up and bumps his head on the branch. He looks up at the tree and says, “Really...really?” He crawls till he feels the warmth of the sun on his skin and stands up when he feels he is clear of the tree. He uses his staff to navigate the ground hoping he can find a large branch. Once his staff hits something that sounds like wood, he bends over and feels the wood. From what he can feel, the branch is about two inches thick. He also notices the branch is dry accept for the part touching the ground. He smiles to himself and decides this is the right branch for tonight's fire.

As Vaas drags the branch through the forest, he starts to notice the branch must be larger than he originally thought because the branch seems to get stuck every five minutes, Vaas eventually make it into the grove with branch in hand. When he make it to the large stone ring, he lays the branch on the rock, and starts breaking it apart with his foot. Taking about ten minutes to break apart the whole branch, Vaas lays the bigger pile of wood by the pile of twigs. He walks over to the clumps of dry grass and starts removing the dry grass from the roots. Once he has a small pile of grass, he takes a handful of grass and lays it in the fire pit. Vaas arranges the twigs on top of the pile grass than he arranges the larger pieces of in a tent arrangement over the pile of twigs and grass. He walks to his travel backpack and fishes out his flint and steel. Once he has it, he walks back to the fire pit, and kneels down next to the fire pit. Then he holds the flint and steel by the grass and starts striking the flint over the steel until the grass starts in fire. Once he hears the crackling of grass, he blows lightly across the top of the grass. Vaas hears the sound of twigs popping, and he sits back in the grass with a grin of satisfaction on his face.

Starting to feel hungry Vaas walks to his back pack and fishes around for some jerky; however, he hears Aela walk back into camp and he says to her, “Oh I love fish. Thank you Aela for catching them. It will be much better than my idea of jerky.” His smile widens at the thought of a whole fish ever since the Djed storm food was scares around the volcano, and the hunters were bringing less and less food everyday. For the lower castes the portions were getting smaller as the summer wore on. Vaas assumed it was the same for the upper castes, but he would not ask any of them that question. When he hears Aela mention the tent size, Vaas makes a face to himself, shakes his head, and says, “No Aela. You take the tent. I can think of something else for me. Besides if your going to hunt tomorrow, you'll need your rest more than I will. I am just going fishing and playing my music tomorrow anyways.”

[Alori Sai]

"Well...maybe, we can both fit?" She smiled and tilted her head in thought. Aela didn't mind sharing the tent with him, even if it meant that they would be crowded. They were friends and she knew him well enough not to be the type of guy to try and sneak a feel. It would only be for a night and unless Wind Dancer planned to join them, they should find a peaceful night's rest. Looking around, she saw that Vaas had already started a fire in the pits. She was impressed that he had done so all by himself along with putting up the tent. He seemed to be very resourceful in his ways, and she started to wonder if there was anything the musician /falconer/wilderness explorer couldn't do. She admired that trait about him, as she herself aspired to be many thing. She had never once saw herself as just a glassblower, nor would she ever see herself in the future as just an Endal. There was far too much to do and see in the world to be held back by the limits of Wind Reach, and she was sure that he felt the same. "This shouldn't take long." Aela moved toward the pit and sat down on the ground. She stabbed the twig into the dirt to keep the fish off the ground and removed her pack and sat it down. Reaching inside her pack, she pulled out a knife to use to remove the scales off the fish before she cooked them. She pulled one of the arrows out of the ground and sat it in her lap, then took one of the fish off and started to remove the scales. It was a slow process and she took her time so that she wouldn't make a mistake and end up losing any meat. Once she was finished removing the scales, she picked up a leftover twig that Vaas had left, and forced it into the fish through it's opened mouth. "Okay, this one is yours." Moving back to the pit, she pushed the other end of the twig into the ground at an angle so that the fish was held just above the fire. Aela moved back to sit beside her pack, and pulled another fish from the arrow to scale. She had looked at the oddly colored fish a few times but decided not to cook them. So little was known about the animals that were affected by the storm and it just wasn't safe to test it yet. Hearing a loud squawk, she looked up and saw that Wind Dancer had returned from exploring and settled on the perch that he had found when they first arrived. "Looks like Wind Dancer is hungry too." The bird was beginning to grow on her more and more, making her want for her own that much stronger. "I didn't see you at the celebration yesterday, were you busy?" The first Wind Eagle egg had been laid since the storm, and a huge party was thrown in the city. It was a lot of fun for Aela, and she took the time to visit her friends and catch up. "The first Wind Eagle egg, it was so exciting." She removed the final scales from the fish then moved back to the pit, where she used another twig to impale the fish and level it close to the flames. "What do you think it's like to bond with a Wind Eagle?" Aela left the oddly colored fish on the arrow and pushed it back into the ground again. She laid back into the grass, her arms laying limp from her shoulders, and her legs crossed at the ankles. She sighed softly, her emerald green eyes staring up into the pale blue in the sky. "You want to travel, don't you Vaas?"

[Vaas]

Vaas listens to soft crackle of the fire and turns his head when she mentions sharing the tent. He gives it a thought and says, “If your comfortable with it, I'll share the tent with you. Sorry, I think when I bought the tent. I was a little too excited to check to see if it was a one person tent or two.” He stands up and retraces his steps back to his backpack and pulls it over to where they are sitting. He sits down next to the fire and smells the fish starting to cook on the fire. He smile to himself when she mention the food should take to long. He looks to where Aela voice came from and asks her in a concerned voice, “So is it true are the animals really changing?” Vaas makes the realization if the animals are changing than eventually the humans will start changing too. He decides not to mention his theory people have to much on their minds to worry about that too. He smells the fish and says, “Next time we go camping. Maybe I'll bring buy some potatoes to go along with the fish.”

Vaas turns back to the fire and he starts humming to himself. He turns his head when he hears Aela mention that Wind Dancer is hungry and he says in a soft voice, “Actually I am hoping Windy would catch his own meal on this trip. I have been worried that I made him rely on me too much for food. I am hoping he hasn't lost his natural instinct for hunting, so this is kind of my test to see if he still has the instincts of a hawk.” This concern has been eating at Vaas for sometime, and now it is crunch time for his feathered friend. He looks at Aela and says, “When your ready to adopt your bird, I'll introduce you to Graven. He sells all the things you need for falconry.”

When Aela mentions the celebration of the first wind eagle egg, Vaas just laughs out loud and says to with a giggle, “Oh! I was wondering what the crowd was doing in the courtyard. At first I thought it was just a bunch of people moving debris. Honestly, Aela in large crowds. I don't do so well unless I am with someone I know, but if I knew you were there, I would have asked you to dance since I heard music playing that night. I think during the celebration I stayed near the musicians listening to the music.” He smiles at Aela and says, “Aela if you ever wonder where I am just listen for music. I am either playing or listening.”

Starting to smell the fish getting done, Vaas hears Aela mention about his thoughts of bonding with a wind eagle. He smiles in satisfaction that he figured out her drive in life and says with a laugh, “Wind Dancer would most likely get jealous of my new friend, but seriously, I think you would make a friendship, so close and personal that any human relationship would be dull in comparison. I heard from stories that Endal communicate with the wind eagles through their minds. Honestly, I think it would be simply amazing to bond with a wind eagle. The eagle would know what you were thinking as soon as you think it.” He pauses thinking to himself at the thought and continues, “ I would have tried bonding with one if I wasn't blind. Wouldn't it be amazing if you could see through their eyes? Sorry sometimes when I start talking, I have a bad habit not stopping.”

Vaas feels the heat starting to cool and he stands up grabs a log and sets it in the fire. He hears Aela asks about traveling Mizahar and smiles to himself, and he looks at her and says, “Yes, one day my wanderlust will get the better of me, and I will try to listen all the music of Mizahar. I would love to go to the Mura, Syliras, Avanthal, and Lhavit when I become a bard. I don't think. I would leave home for long. Maybe a year or two, but I would love to hear songs from other lands and bring them back to our people.” He decides to ask her with a silly grin, “So.. once you become a Endal, Aela, do I have to bow to you?”

[Alori Sai]

Aela looked toward the strange fish again, the infected animals were still a mystery and many didn't want to come anywhere near them. Aela wasn't as afraid but she didn't want to eat them yet and the more she thought about it, she wondered if touching them would have any effect. "Wuh?" She said suddenly when he asked her if the rumors of the transformations were true. She hadn't meant to answer with a question, but took her back a bit when he asked the question just as she looked at the fish, as if he could see it too. "Yea, they look pretty strange." She thought to describe the oddly colored fish to him but it would do little to explain the different since he didn't know how a normal fish looked. She curled her lips upward and glanced at him when he mentioned a second camping trip,when the first was barely under way. Did he really enjoy camping that much? "Potatoes huh?" Aela smiled to him as he began to hum and found herself doing it as well. But upon Wind Dancer's return, and after alerting Vaas, she was surprised to learn what little training he had with the hawk. She wanted to adopt a falcon soon, and she planned to spend as much time as she could with the bird. It was a good thing for her that Vaas already knew the right person to go to, which would make it easier. "I'll hold you to that." She smiled and tossed a small twig at him. Aela brought her palm to her forehead in a swift move. "Of course he wasn't at the celebration. It's not like he could see anything. " She had gotten used to the unorthodox way of Vaas and his special way of seeming to show up everywhere, that she sometimes forgot about his vision. Still, he seemed to get around just fine, and going camping to enjoy the forest wasn't something he could see either. "The sound of music, I'll remember that." The aroma of the cooking fish made her stomach growl and she curled her elbows into her lap to somehow muffle the sound. She was interested in his thoughts of bonding with a Wind Eagle and it seemed that he had heard the same stories that she had. His views on the subject were very close to her own, but she was curious to why he didn't mention flying. She looked away from him, her eyes now staring into the fires in the pit. It dawned on her that his perception even in this was different from her own. His lack of vision kept him from seeing the world around him, so it would be impossible for him to imagine flying when he couldn't even see the ground below him. His next works took her back a bit when he spoke of his vision keeping him from bonding with an Eagle. When she first met him, those years ago in the market, her thoughts had been the same. But after getting to know him and his love for his hawk, she started to wonder if it really were possible. "Don't give up Vaas....Never loose out on your dream." Laying back onto the grass still, Aela watched as Vaas began to move around, and adding more wood to the fire. The smell of the fish brought more grumbles to her stomach and she placed her hands gently over her belly and giggled. "Oh, don't start that again." She laid still, and listened as he told her of his quest to travel the land in search of new and entertaining music. Just as she was about to close her eyes, his next question shocked her, causing her to sit up quickly and look at him. "Bow to me? You're making fun of me." She giggled a bit and tossed another twig at him. His question had been a joke, but it reminded of her something that she hadn't thought much over until now. It had been a short time since she met Aidara but the Endal had never treated her as anything other than an equal and a friend. She paused for a moment as the thought sunk in deeper and she understood just how different her friend was from the other Endals. Sitting back up, she stared into the fire and was quickly reminded that she was in charge of dinner. "Oh, I think they're ready." Moving closer to the fire pit, Aela lifted the twigs out of the ground and away from the fire. "Here, this one is yours." She leaned toward him and turned the stick to where he could grip it.

[Vaas]

A another twig bounces off Vaas' bare chest and he mutters to himself with a smile, “Priskil why am I so abused by my friends?” He picks the up the twig and tosses back towards the direction of Aela voice. He hears her say the food is ready, and he can smell her slightly. He realizes she is holding something out for him, he reaches out his hand into the air, and starts patting the air until he finds her arm. Hoping this is not making her uncomfortable, he moves hand down her arm, over her hand, and finally to her fingers holding the stick with the fish on it. Once he has the stick, he grabs onto it and says with a smile to Aela, “Thank you for making this it smells wonderful.”

Vaas sits cross legged with his back leaning on his backpack. He keeps the fish on stick and the two ends of the stick are balanced on his knees. He starts picking at the fish with his fingers, and he brings the fish to his mouth and tosses it into his mouth. He savors the smoky flavor in his mouth for a moment, and he says to Aela, “These fish really taste wonderful. Thank you Aela.” As he eats the fish, he starts thinking about Aela encouragement on possibility bonding with a wind eagle. He smiles to himself at the thoughts of flying through the air and the sensation involved in flying, but he starting to realizes the Endals wouldn't waste their time teaching a blind man to fly in this day of age. The wind eagles are used in hunting for the Inarta, and Vaas can barely find his food let alone kill something with a bow. He looks at Aela and smiles, “Maybe Aela once your a Endal. You'll have to give me a ride on your wind eagle, or tell me about your experience someday. Besides I need to get Wind Dancer hunting.”

At that moment, Wind Dancer smelling the scent of food decides to fly down from his perch to Vaas side. He looks at his friend and spreads his wings and screams at the blind man, “Kree-eee-ar.” Vaas looks at Wind Dancer and puts a protective hand over his fish and says to the bird, “This is my food Wind Dancer. You go find something in the forest to eat.” Wind Dancer tilts his head to Aela and gives her a gentle chirp as he notices her fish is getting done cooking. Vaas gives the bird a annoyed look and says to him, “Wind Dancer you are not a beggar. Don't try to sweet talk Aela.” Wind Dancer shoots Vaas a annoyed glance, flaps his wings at him, and takes off flying into the forest.

[Alori Sai]

Aela ducked the twig that he tossed at her and in return gave him a dose of a fiery Inartan raspberry. He couldn't see her jovial, childish act but that made it all the more funny for her. She waited patiently as he took his time moving his hand down her arm until he found her hand and eventually the twig it held. Looking closer, she noticed a faint blush in his cheeks and wondered if he was uncomfortable touching her. It was only a though and she was probably wrong. Still it would seem odd since he wasn't as shy around the women she saw him with in front of the common rooms those days ago. She turned the twig she still held toward her mouth and leaned towards it and lightly tested the heat with her teeth. The meat was very warm, but not enough for them to wait before eating. Aela looked back toward him when he commended her for cooking the fish. "It's just fish Vaas, I didn't do anything special to it." She said, shaking her head a bit. Her eyes wondered back to the oddly colored fish again, she wondered if she had caught enough for them both to eat or if she would have to cook the deji fish, or perhaps go out and fish again. Taking a bite of the fish, Aela quickly took another and another. She hadn't realized just how hungry she was and reached for the second arrow and arranged the last of the normal fish onto twigs and jammed them into the ground close to the fire. Aela was surprised when he mentioned wanting to ride a Wind Eagle, apparently he had heard things that gave him another perspective that he could relate too. "Are you sure that you want to give it a try? It might be dangerous?" She said in a mischievous tone. Hearing the familiar chirps of Wind Dancer, she looked up as he landed near Vaas and rudely asked for part of his dinner. Aela held in a giggle as Vaas took on a strong parenting tone with the hawk, and sent him off to find his own food. "I think he's mad." She joked, but she knew that it was best that the hawk learned to hunt and the sooner the better for them both. Once she was finished with what she could eat of the fish, she tossed the bones and twig into the firepit. Leaning back again, she propped herself up on her elbows and forearms and watched the fire. "It will probably turn dark soon, so if there is anything you wanted to do, we should get to it." After she spoke, he remembered that he had mentioned playing his flute and it brought up an interesting question. "Vaas, what first inspired you to become a musician?"