Closed Winter's Justice (Iosha/Oitera)

[Red Daghul]

Timestamp: 21st day of winter, 512 AV

The winter chill from the morning forced it's way into Red's bedroom only to find the coals of a fire ready for battle, and so the battle for warmth with in the chamber began. The cold air sought to attack the sleeping Endal where he lay, but the warmth from both the fire and the blankets charged forth swords held high in attempt to fight off the chill. A hour went by before the sun peaked it's rays into the room calling in reinforcements against the cold, but ultimately waking the Inartan man who lay beneath the shield of blankets.

Red rolled out of bed seemingly unaware of the battle that had just taken place for the tempature of his room, and with sleep filled eyes he stretched his arms out above his head as the day set into his mind. It had all be planned out, and all that was left was to pack a few things before they left. Who you may ask, Red had invited Iosha to join him and a aspiring young hunter named Oitera. A couple days ago her mentor, Harif, had approached Red about taking the girl with him on his next hunting trip. Of course, normally Red would have declined, but last fall the Endal had a chance meeting with Oitera which held led to a friendship between the girl and Endal.

After talking it over with Daghul he agreed that it would be worth while to help mentor the girl, and what better way then a hunting trip. Knowing that Oitera's dislike towards men it dawned on the Endal that it might be worth it to invite another woman to join them. That's when the idea to invite Iosha formed in his mind. The idea seemed perfect Red enjoyed his time spent with her, and plus it would give someone for Oitera to meet and learn from. All in all it seemed like a great plan.

Taking a deep breath and releasing it Red decided that he should get things rolling before the two showed up ready to go. Walking over to his closest the Endal pulled out his hunting garb a dark red leather jerkin with the hood, and leather black pants. It would not be the best thing to hunt in, but with black Katinu over it he should blend in a little bit better.

Walking into the public area of his aeries he found a pile of gear just as he had left it. There was a small pack which head some food, and a few other simple camping needs. Of course, both his talon sword and longbow were sent on the bench next to it each waiting for combat, and to accompany his bow 40 arrows that he had gotten from the Reach as he normally got before a hunting trip. All seemed ready.

All that was left was for the hunting party members to arrive, and Red found himself eager to have them join him on this sunny morning. Adventure was there waiting unseen just as a bird stalking it's prey waits on a branch. This trip was something Red knew would be remembered for ages.

[Oitera]

This was the first time Oitera would get to hunt with an Endal! This day was going to be great, she had heard something about that someone else was going to come along, but who she didn't know. Though she did trust Red, Oitera didn't trust many others that was men. This fact did ruin her mood a bit, but she pushed it away with a reminder of that they couldn't walk to the place where they was going to hunt. Which ment she was going to fly again and that was almost the best with all this!

It got warmer and warmer as she half ran to the Endal aeries, she already had her Katinu over her normal clothing. She considered to take it of but decided not to since that would mean she had to slow down and she wanted to reach Reds aerie as soon as possible. She had already been waiting for half an hour to make sure she wasn't to early, she didn't want to risk waking Red up to early. Not now when he'd agreed to take her out on a hunting session.

As she came closer to the earies, Oitera got more nervous as well. What if he did still sleep? What if she came to late? What if... Shut up! she thought to herself, not succesful with tricking herself. She slowed down a little as she came closer than one hundred meters to Reds earie. Her hands was now sweaty cause of her nervousness, she didn't really know what to do. But a first step was to knock so that was what she did.

[Iosha]

Iosha stared at her empty backpack than shifted her eyes to the pile of clothes sitting on the bed next to her backpack. Lost in thought, Iosha started to bit her lip as she struggled to decide on the appropriate winter survival clothing to bring. In the back of her mind, Iosha remembered Micquel telling her, “Seriously, Iosha your going on a hunting trip in the middle of winter...You know your probably going to die, right?” Iosha gave him a point for that comment. Honestly, she doesn't do cold weather very well and this trip into the unforgiving will test her constitution and nerve. When Red asked her to come on this trip with him, Iosha was hesitant about going out in the middle of nowhere, in the armpit of winter, and to shoot poor defenseless animals. However, when she looked at the excitement in his eyes when he invited her. Iosha excuses for not going on the trip crumbled in front of her. Also, she didn't want to crush his careful planning under the weight of her being a giant freeze baby! Iosha picked up her newly bought white cotton vanti and frowned to herself when she realized the top only covered her breasts. At first thought she shook her head, no when she put it back on the bed. However, her eyes shifted back to the vanti once again, and Iosha picked up the shirt and said to herself, “Iosha you want to understand Inartan culture than you best wear their clothing even though your stomach might freeze.” She folded up her cotton shirt and her cotton bryda and gently placed them into the backpack. She continued packing the warmest articles of clothing. She folded up her winter blanket and crammed the blanket into the backpack. Walking over to her chest, she retrieved her weeks worth of rations and put them into her bag. Since she lived in Taldera for five years, she decided to dress in her winter outfit made of white fur. When she lived in Avanthal, Bjorn, the old polar bear kelvic, was a kind old man and a good friend. However, whenever, he saw the shivering Konti in the snow. Most of the time, he commented how she resembled a arctic fox because of the white fur all over the shirt, pants, coat, and cloak. Before putting up her hood, she wrapped her white cotton scarf around her neck and made her way to the door. Feeling the heat already starting the build under her clothing, she strapped on her long sword to her belt, slings the quiver and bow to her back, and she reached down and grabbed her snowshoes and the bag holding the tent. Iosha wasn't a strong girl by any means, so the supplies she brought hindered her movements slightly. When she double checked what she needs for the trip, she decided to make the long trip to Red's aerie. During the trip to his home, Iosha got looked at strangely by Inartans as she shambled down the halls of the warrens to the district where they house the Endals. Iosha had saw the Aeries twice during her short stay in Wind Reach. One was the delightful party at Sira's home and the other when Red took her on a fall trip on his wind eagle, Daghul. When she got to Endal district, the Endals ignored her as she made her way to Red's door. Once at the door, she set down the snowshoes and the tent bag and knocked on his door.

[Red Daghul]

The first knock came just a few moments after he had everything ready to go, and with a steady pace that reflected a relaxed endal Red answered his door to find a young girl standing at his door. Oitera looked some what nervous standing there, but the Endal gave her a friendly smiled and gestured for her to come in "Oitera, it is a pleasure to see you again" he said as the two walked into the room "I hear you are making great progress with Harif, and please make yourself at home I'm sure Iosha should be here in moment" and then just like that another knock sounded through the room.

The Endal now moved towards the door, and to his expected surprise he could feel his heart beat just a bit faster. Iosha was a beautiful woman, and he had been finding himself slightly having a crush on her which he hoped that she hadn't noticed. They had been becoming good friends so far, and Red was very happy with that. Swinging the door open he found Iosha wearing a white fur winter outfit with a sword at her side, bow on her back, and pack next to her.

This was a new sight for Red he had never seen Iosha look so fierce. This of course brought thoughts about how good she was with the blade and bow, but mainly the blade. Gesturing for her to come in as well "Welcome, again to my home make yourself at home" he gave her a playful smile and then walked over to Oitera. "Oitera meet Iosha, and Iosha meet Oitera" he felt a little lame introducing them so, but hey what better way. "give me one moment and we will pack up and be off" he walked back into his room to make sure he had everything ready to go, that and he wanted the two girls to get to know each other for a second before they all flew together.

[Oitera]

When she got welcomed in, Oitera followed Red while looking around. Searching for the space that she hoped to see Daghul in and trying to see everything and compare it to her own room. Her backpack, quiver and bow, which hung on her back, was lifting from her back as she spun around to be able to see the rest of her room. She totally forgot that she maybe should answer Red and thank for his hospitality. But when the knocking on the door was heard she looked over at it to see who it was, remembering Red mentioned someone whose name was Iosha that was coming soon. When Iosha came in the door, Oitera quickly looked over her face, body and outfit. She was a very tall woman, but very slim. She didn't seem like someone that liked to be outdoors, but you shall never judge after appearance, as they say. But at least she seamed to have proper clothing and that's never wrong in these moutains, especially at winter. Then Red walked away to fix something and left them alone. "Hello Iosha. well, as he said my name is Oitera" That felt very dumb to say, but I don't know what else to say, she thought to herself when she smiled. Oitera watched Ioshas outfit again and her pack as well this time. It didn't seem to be anything wrong with that. After watching Iosha for a couple of seconds Oitera looked around in the room again to see the rest of it while she waited for Red to come back.

[Iosha]

When Red gave her the invitation to come into his home, Iosha grabbed her snowshoes and walked into the room. She noticed Red and her weren't alone. Her eyes fall upon a young Inartan teenage girl with a interesting combination of shades of red in her hair. Red introduced the teenager as Oitera as soon as he mentioned her name to Oitera, Iosha gave the girl a friendly smile. Once Red left the room, Iosha decided to take of her back pack, and she set it down by her feet. She was about to introduced herself again to the young woman, but Oitera beat her to the punch. The girl introduced herself with a smile, and Iosha pulls down her hood and said to the young woman, “It is a pleasure to meet you Oitera my name is Iosha Moonchaser.” Even if she was here before, Iosha was still amazed at the interior of his home. When she first saw the décor of his aeries, she had to smile at the fact. He made his living room into a camp site, but he did it in a way where the fire pit didn't look out of place. Iosha eyes fall upon the fire place, and she started to remember the cold nights around the fire with her lover Ayume. Iosha smiled to herself remembering the different ways she took Iosha's mind off the cold. She decided to turn her gaze from the fireplace and asked the young woman, “Are you excited about this hunting trip Oitera? Honestly, I think my friend are taking bets on my survival on our trip..” She chuckles to herself and started to wonder if what she said was true. She gave the girl a nod while she reassured the young woman she wasn't going to be a burden, “By the way, I was a healer for a hunting company in Taldera, so I am used to being outdoors for long periods of time. However, I have to warn you ahead of time that I am a giant freeze baby.” She gives the young woman a playful wink and starts taking off her heavy coat. Looking at the bow on her shoulder, Iosha asked her softly, “You must be pretty good with a bow aren't you, Oitera?” Iosha held the coat under her arm while she looked at one of the tapestries in the distance. Looking back to Oitera, she noticed she carried a short bow on her shoulder. Trying to make small talk, she held up her short bow to her and continued, “My father was a Inartan, and when he became a Endal his friend crafted this bow for him. Honestly, I am pretty rubbish at archery, but I am making a effort to improve since it will help me understand my father better. By the way, I know nothing about hunting, so maybe you and Red could teach me a thing or two about it.” Iosha inwardly groaned when she told Oitera, she was going to be basically worthless on this hunting trip. Honestly, she just wanted to spend time with Red in his element. Hunting seemed important to him, so this trip seemed like the perfect opportunity learn a new skill and understand the passion of one of her new friend. Looking at Oitera, Iosha asked with a smile, “So Oitera how do you know Red? Are you one of his students? I have to apologize when I meet new people. I asked them a lot of question if it is annoying I will be quiet.”

[Red Daghul]

The Endal kept himself moving as he made a last few checks of his things in his room, and all the while going through check lists in his head of stuff he may need. Specially seeing how he was bringing two more people along with him that he had never seen out in the wilderness. Though this was true of the fact he trusted both of the girls to be as safe as they could.

'You seem a bit excited, Red' came the voice inside his head that could only be from Daghul 'It has been a long time since I have seen you this... whats the word' the Eagle sent a picture of a bird just about to fly for the first time.

Red turned to look at his friend only to remember he was in his room, and Daghul was through a hall into another bigger room for the bird. Laughing inwardly at himself he moved through the hall to where Daghul was perched and sent 'and you aren't' the Bird had been poking and prodding him to invite Iosha to visit, and not to mention just to get out and socialize 'I know how much you have been wanting me to do this, so don't try and make it like I an the only excited one here'

The Wind Eagle answered with a small screech conveying that he half agreed with Red, and the Endal only rolled his eyes and shook his head 'very well, Daghul we shall see, but I better get back to the girls' and with that he started to head into the room.

As he entered he noticed that the two were talking so he kept to himself for a moment checking through his gear making sure that he had everything he may need. Though Daghul might have been mostly joking it was also clear that this was important to Red, and he wanted to make sure that everything went well.

[Oitera]

The woman introduced herself as Iosha Moonchaser, but Oitera was quite sure her last name was doomed to be forgotten before they had even left Reds aerie. Then she asked Oitera if she was excited and told her that her friends was betting about her survival. Oitera thought to herself that that didn't seem to be so nice but didn't say anything since she didn't want to be rude. But she nodded and smiled as an answer to her question and said "Yeah, absolutely." She couldn't stop herself from glancing around again to look for Daghul. To be honest, that was probably one of the most exciting parts on this trip, and the fact that she was going to go hunting with an Endal. Not long after her first question Iosha told Oitera that she was a healer and used to be outdoor, but a freeze baby. This didn't concern her to much, Oitera was far to excited to care about that kind of stuff. "I'm sure you're going to be okay" she said to Iosha and smiled at her. To answer Ioshas second question Oitera shrugged. "I'm quite good at still targets but since I haven't got much practice on real animals I'm not super good at that." This could be a problem, but how are you supposed to learn if you can't fail a couple of times? The second problem was her lack of skill at tracking and putting up traps, but she hopped Red could help her with that and teach her a couple of things. The next moment Iosha told her that she wasn't good at hunting either, great. "Well, I haven't had that much time to practise hunting so I'm not that good at tracking and stuff even if I can shoot quite good. So it seems that Red have to teach us both" She smiles and looked around once again, still trying to see any clue of where Daghul was. The last of Ioshas questions was of a more sensitive subject, since she still felt quite dumb about that she had trusted the myth. "Well..." She tried to come up with something that wasn't a lie but without having to tell her all of it. "...we had a little adventure last fall." She smiled again but not quite as honsetly this time. "And don't worry about asking to much, how are you supposed to learn anything without asking?" This time her smile was more relaxed and open. But now she wanted Red to come so they could leave, she wanted to fly again.

[Iosha]

Iosha smirked to herself as she listened to Oitera dodge the question. She didn't revel anything other than it was just a adventure. Maybe, she will have to ask this question again when their little hunting party got to know each other better. Iosha smiled and said teasingly to Oitera, “Yes you are definitely right, Oitera. Oh. By the way, I will find out about you and Red's adventure eventually since you just perked my interest now.” She gave her a wink signaling she was joking. She wouldn't want to embarrass the young Inartan woman on a hunting trip that will impact the girl's life more than Iosha. She smiled at the young hunter and said with excitement in her voice, “Honestly, I am just excited to get outside the city. I think I am starting to get restless being stuck in the city. Anyway, it is nice to meet you, Oitera.” When Red emerged into the hallway, she immediately thought of something clever to say to him. Red was one of the first people Iosha met outside of work. She met him at the party, and she quickly became friends with him soon after. Iosha was starting to pick up some of the cultural norms of the city. She walked over to Red and gave him a hug. She pulled away still holding his arm and teased with a wink, “You know Red. The only reason I am going on this hunting trip is to see Daghul. Oh you met Micquel in the Infirmary. Well, he is making bets on my survival with Keah on this trip of ours, so let prove the old man wrong and make sure Keah gets her money.” She gave him a small laugh and let go his arms and waited for his instructions.

[Red Daghul]

Just as Red reached his gear he was ambushed by Iosha which was not something he had expected, and as she hugged him he found himself almost a little surprised. Specially since she had waited till he returned to greet him in this way. In the end though he found it a natural thing and hugged her back though still slightly confused. That's when she pulled back some hands still on his arm, and gave him that playful wink that he had come to know well.

“You know Red. The only reason I am going on this hunting trip is to see Daghul. Oh you met Micquel in the Infirmary. Well, he is making bets on my survival with Keah on this trip of ours, so let prove the old man wrong and make sure Keah gets her money.”

Red smiled he was sure Daghul heard her words because he sent a image of the second time she had met the giant eagle where Daghul had really gone out of his way to looked extra... well awesome. The Endal himself only smiled back at the white haired maiden and let her finish before sending his own playful remark.

"Well, maybe Micquel asked me to help him out" he gave her a mischievous grin "you know just tip the odds in his favor a bit" he then gave her the same wink she gave him and added "but I guess I can help you out seeing how you asked so nicely" he gave a little laugh to let her know he would make sure she made it through and then went to grab his gear.

"well ladies, if you two are ready I believe my feathered friend would be more then happy to take us on our way" he looked to both Iosha and Oitera and nodded as he lifted his small back and weapons to his shoulders and headed towards Daghul's nesting room letting the other two follow.

Once inside the room Red slung his bag to the ground and motioned for the other two to bring their bags over two "To make things easier on Daghul we will tie our bags together, and let Daghul use his talons to carry them while we ride on his bag" pulling out some rope he decided best to add "and don't worry he has't drop anything in a few years" he sent a image of Daghul dropping Red once and the two laughed to themselves as Red waited for the other two to bring their things over.