Closed The Hunt for the Dark Tongue (Sama'el)

[Leto Sunsinger]

Timestamp: 5th of Fall, 512 A.V.

Sitting within the Sunsinger pavilion, Leto seemed to have an aura of confidence surrounding him now. He had had this aura of confidence the past few days, after the events that happened with Sama'el, and now he knew that Sama'el truly loved him. It felt good to be loved by someone, the have that love returned to him, as he would give it to Sama'el and his children. Practicing his entrance into the web, Leto would be sitting there, hands upon an ethereal strand of the webbing that branched out from their origin stone that they had laid down only a few days prior. He began to focus, allowing himself to slip from his physical body, into the ethereal body that could travel the webbing. As his glowing body was within the web now, he would traverse it briefly, in order to gather some information. Where was Sama'el, was his main question, utilizing the web in such a way that he'd be able to hopefully trace his lover with it.

Once he found where he was, Leto would carefully follow the webbing back to his physical body, allowing himself to push his ethereal form back into it, hands into hands, feet into feet, body into body, head into head. As he finished coming back out of the trance and web, he would pull himself together, flexing his body as he looked up with obsidian eyes, now knowing where exactly Sama'el was, for he had a question, and suggestion for him. He had spoken to a watch member, about possibly selling various poisons to them, and learning to synthesis new ones, but first he needed a lot more experience at it. The man mentioned something about the venom of a black adder, and how it could be concentrated into a poison. So, what he was going to suggest to Sama'el, was the possibility of looking for black adders, mercy killing a few, and possibly utilizing their venom to make a new type of poison that he hadn't worked with before. He had learned to work with arachnids, but now he wanted to expand his horizons to learn to work with another type of poison, that being the serpente family as the watch member had called it.

So, he made his way to where he had located Sama'el at, and would proceed to speak with him about it. Once he found him, if the man didn't move from his current position that is...

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Leto found Sama'el sitting on a rise not far outside Endrykas, the Strider Bigarren standing guard over his still body as his astral form stood outside, mending a section of the Web. It was easier to work the farther away from Endrykas one went. He was able to do most things that an Ankal or Watchman ought, but he generally needed to be away from the densest part of the Web to see the tree for the forest, as it were. Out here, each gossamer strand of energy linking the Drykas nation was more plainly visible to him, more easily manipulated. As Petya and others had taught him, he spun a bit of himself out to connect the two ends of a ley-line that had been broken. They were too close to Endrykas for there to have been foul play. No leeching sorcerer or djed-hungry monster would be able to get this close unobserved. There were natural causes, of course. It was a complex system, and needed tending. He could sense the approach of Leto's distinctive aura on the Web, but when he didn't stay, Sama'el focused on getting this work done. If Leto was looking for him, there was likely a reason why. And so by the time Leto found him physically, Sama'el was standing up, one hand on Bigarren's shoulder for balance as he stretched his limbs, wriggled his toes, making sure the part of him that had been missing was fully reintegrated into the whole. "Ho, Leto!" he called, hand raised in greeting. But as he watched, he determined that he was going to make Leto follow him around on some short trips, the better to increase his skill at riding. The man had spent so much time delving into the mysteries, he hadn't spent enough time on Arias' back. The long march to and from Avanthal was one thing, but there was much more to learn.

[Leto Sunsinger]

As Leto began his approach towards Sama'el, and Sama'el yelled out in greeting, his sat upon Arias' back, his strider, and made his way towards Sama'el. Grinning, he stayed atop Arias as he finished his approach towards Sama'el, and looked down towards him. He seemed quite happy that day, possibly because of the events that had happened the prior day, but then again it could just be because he had spoken with the Watch, and gained more information on the poisons that him and Sama'el had been seeking in order to assist The Watch. "I saw you fixing a portion of the web," he said to Sama'el, "Leechers?" he asked briefly, wondering if it was them, but not quite knowing entirely. Sama'el was much more proficient in his use of the Web, so Leto would allow him to make the decision, obviously, if it happened to be Leechers or not. Though, they were still fairly close to Endrykas, so he had his doubts about it actually being leechers.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sama'el shook his head. "The storms that melted Avanthal rushed through Cyphrus too," he said. "The Web was mightily disrupted. It needs a lot of repair, which is why we made that Origin, and why I seem to spend so much of my time out of my body these days." But despite the glut of work, he smiled up at Leto, put his hand on the man's knee. The two stallions were used to each other now and didn't seem inclined to fight, though if one of the mares went into estrus, all bets were off. He was going to have to look at all the pavilions horses and make some decisions, talk to his family. The health of the herd would be important for their continued livelihood, and he wasn't planning to breed Dohaina again for a while yet. "There would be more blood if it were leechers," he promised with a wink.

[Leto Sunsinger]

"Why yes... I supposed you're right... That storm took more from us that we probably ever wanted taken from us," he said, thinking back about his Aunt and Uncle whom happened to get caught in the storm, and who have returned to the web and wilds now. He still got sad about it every so often, but he knew that in their deaths, he gained a new family, one that he could respect, and learn from, as well as help out and teach new things to. Allowing his hand to rest on Sama'el's hand, which was upon his knee, he smiled, and then said, "Do you have anything you need finished today? That I could assist you with? I spoke with a member of The Watch about helping provide poison for their arrows, and he said that there is a species of snake that can be found around riverbeds in Cyphrus... I believe he called it a Black Adder. I was thinking that if we could possibly either capture or kill a few, we might be able to utilize their poison for The Watch, and assist them with making their arrows more proficient... I'd love to help out as much as I can, but with my limited knowledge in poisons, I figure that practice makes perfect in this instance? Plus it would give me something to do today... I'm not at all sure about traveling out alone, which is why I came to see what you happened to be up to?" He wouldn't mind riding around with Sama'el to finish up some of the stuff that Sama'el had to do, and it would keep him fairly occupied, and his mind off of his old pavilion. Plus, if Sama'el agreed to help him hunt the Black Adders for the creation of thier venomous poison, Leto would feel a lot more helpful to the pavilions, rather than just sit around and draw glyphs all day, even though, that was what he was good at. He wanted to be multi-faceted, like most Drykas, and had even brought his glaive which was in a holder on his back made of leather, so that he could easily retrieve it and utilize it if necessary. Turning his obsidian gaze down towards Sama'el after briefly looking at his other strider, he smiled, and awaited a response from the man about his idea, and also to see if Sama'el had any other things he needed to accomplish that day, that Leto could assist with...

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

He leaned in to plant a kiss on Leto's hand, then cover his hand with his free one, making a childish sandwich of hands. Then he laughed and squeezed Leto's knee before pulling away to plant his hands just so on Bigarren's yvas and vault carefully to a proper seat. It was beautiful to see, perhaps, how he got his center of gravity up and over so he could elegantly arrange his body, but then Sama'el almost spent more time astride a horse than not. When he married Sandar, she might have to learn to consummate the marriage on horseback or she might never catch him! "I will protect you," he promised with boyish enthusiasm and bravado. "But truly, I would rather you didn't leave Endrykas without me, or perhaps Ronan. It was always dangerous, but now moreso. But I have finished with the Web for today. Let's go find a streambed. They'll be dry this time of year, most likely, but I remember catching adders as a boy. We'll just find sticks with forks at the end and... well, I'll show you." He glanced skyward, shading his eyes until he found Hodei, gaze tugged in the right direction by the bond they shared through the Web. "Are you ready?"

[Leto Sunsinger]

Leto smiled as Sama'el made the hand sandwich out of their hands, and gave his a squeeze. It made him happy to know that Sama'el loved him in a way that he could love him back, and the man had finally revealed his feelings for him, only to have them reciprocated in the end. Listening then to what Sama'el was saying after he vaulted ever so gracefully up onto Bigarren, the elder drykas nodded. "It is indeed a dangerous world out there within the sea of grass..." he said, remembering how his incident when he was younger cost the lives of several drykas including his family. He never knew what became of his brother as they had ran in opposite directions, and the creature came after him first, and spared his brother. But when he had awaken next after the drykas had rescued him, he was in a healer's tent, with scarring up and down his upper body. Turning his head towards Sama'el as the man asked if Leto was ready, he nodded his head, and then said, "I thank you and Ronan for your protection. I wish I was better able to protect myself, and maybe someday in the future, I will be, but for now, I won't leave Endrykas without you or Ronan, I promise. And yes, me and Arias are ready to ride!" He grinned, and then urged Arias forwards after Sama'el would start on Bigarren, and make his way after him, riding atop his strider as well as he knew how to. He was merely a beginner at riding, but he was getting better the more he rode with Sama'el, and would certainly take any tips regarding his riding from the master of horses that rode in front of him...

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Good," he said, glad he would not have to worry about Leto making foolish choices that endangered him when Sama'el wasn't around to keep him safe. "We can practice that glaive sometimes, too." Sama'el himself didn't know how to use one, but he had seen it done and could probably pick up a few things fairly quickly, but then he could also spar with Leto, both with scimitar and with dagger, honing his own skills and making Leto more difficult to kill. But for now they rode, and he watched Leto at it. He knew what he was doing, but he clearly didn't have as much practice as a man of the Watch, especially one with such a yen to prove himself as Sama'el. It had paid off, though, all the hard work. He was an Ankal, and he was to marry Sandar. With Oriana's blessing, there might be human children yet. Once he was assured that Leto and Arias could handle the pace, he looked ahead, giving Bigarren his head so long as he ran parallel to the stream, so they could find a stretch of it more secluded from Endrykas' population where the adders might be out in the autumnal sunshine. They rode rather farther than was absolutely necessary, but the horses needed the constant exercise to stay healthy -- especially Arias whose rider wasn't as much a traveler -- and because Sama'el reveled in the wind in his hair and the sun on his face, and it was something he could share with Leto, getting him out of his comfortable spot. But finally he slowed Bigarren down, assuming Arias would follow suit. No stallion had fully asserted himself as leader of the Sunsinger herd, but they all seemed content to follow Dohaina's lead, perhaps sensing that she was bonded to the Ankal of the pavilion. Striders were strange and wonderful creatures. Sama'el vaulted off the saddle, no tricky flips or anything this far from a healer, but always testing his body and his rapport with the horse he was riding at any given time. He needed his constant exercise too, or he wouldn't be able to sleep for all the vim and vigor that was his natural gift.

[Leto Sunsinger]

As Leto rode Arias behind Sama'el and Bigarren, he made sure to keep his feet steady on the Yvas, and leaned forward a bit, so as to keep his balance upon Arias' back. The horse galloped behind Bigarren, and Leto could feel the wind whipping through his short blonde and black hair as he made his way fowards upon Arias' back. But soon enough it seemed that they were at their destination, and upon arrival there, Arias did indeed slow down in following Bigarren, and once he came to a complete stop, this time stopping slower than when Leto and Sama'el had first met, so Leto didn't go flying off of his back, Leto dismounted, and patted Arias's neck. "Good job Arias," he said, speaking to his strider as if it where a human. The bonds between strider and rider were wound very tightly, and Leto understood this, so treated Arias as nothing less than a friend would be treated. Arias neighed a bit, moving his head up and down, as if nodding to Leto, and Leto grinned, petting Arias' face as a way of congratulating him for the decent ride. Turning towards Sama'el, he then said, "That felt good, riding like that... It's been awhile since i've been outside in the Sea of Grass... not since we came back from Riverfall..." As he spoke, he didn't want to mention what had happened before they came back, and directly afterwards, knowing it would only spark unnecessary sadness amongst them, the loss of Issima and Leto's family. But instead, he quickly changed the subject, and then said, "So, you used to catch adders when you were younger? I hope you've never been bit by one, the Watch man I spoke to said that their venom can be especially harmful if injected by one of them... so we'll have to watch not to get injured by them, else it might be hard to get back to Endrykas..." That was truly his only worry about doing this, it was a risk they were taking though, in order to better benefit the Watch, so in Leto's mind, the risk was worth the benefit. "Anyways, show me how you used to catch them, so that we might be able to try catching one or two..." he then said, wondering if they were just going to catch them, or actually kill them in order to extract the venom they needed to craft the poison the watch man had told him about...

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sama'el was proud of Leto for keeping up, even if it wasn't a breakneck race against time and monsters. Every little accomplishment could be added to the pile until they formed a mountain. "Yes," he agreed, but of course he always loved to ride. He gave Bigarren a command to graze, but be watchful. They were not far enough from Endrykas for major dangers, but Cyphrus was Cyphrus, and the storms had made everything more unpredictable. "I was never bitten. My cousin was once... Then she wouldn't come back to Dhani-hunting with us." That was what they had called their snake-capturing antics, the young Sunsingers. "We'll probably find them sunning themselves on rocks, but what we need to do is find... oh, huh. This might work." He picked up and handed Leto a fallen branch from one of the scrubby little trees that clung to the faint riparian strip along the dry stream's bank. "You use it like a fork to pin them down right behind their heads," he explained. "Not so hard as to hurt them, but hard enough they can't wriggle free. You have to get your hand right there too, because if you control the head, you control the poison, and then they can't hurt you. You brought the kit, right? We can... I think you call it milking? Milk their venom right into the vials, and then toss them somewhere soft so they can escape. They won't come after us. They'll just want to find cover at that point. And then we have the poison and you can... well, if you're going to do anything with it, we can do that back home."