Flashback An Old Vow and a New Face (Ayatah)

[Ayatah]

"If you gain satisfaction from them, then good luck to you."

Ayatah smiled ruefully and slowly shook her head, ”You misunderstand my meaning. I spend half my life now harvesting and praying - but these are by no means what I want to do with myself. I have no clue what I plan to do with my life.”

It was true that her life had certainly landed in somewhat of a rut, as of late. In the twenty or so days that she had finished her military service, Ayatah found herself at somewhat of a crossroads. Her stepfather urged her to marry and have children, to extend the Scattered Bones clan with offspring of her own. Ayatah’s mother, on the other hand, urged her daughter to do the opposite. Having watched how Ayatah was fundamentally different to other Myrian children, Paira wanted her to daughter to explore outside of the jungle - even if it meant going to the desert lands of her father.

She wants me to find happiness and comfort, whatever I find it in, Ayatah considered as she picked again at the remaining vegetables in her bowl, but could I leave the jungle?

"You were out by the basin, yes? Did you see any sign there of tigers? Droppings, tracks... anything?"

The question dragged Ayatah’s attention away from her introspection. She could not recall seeing anything that hinted at tigers being present at the basin. ”Not that I can remember.” But there were always tigers in the jungle, somewhere. It aroused her interests that he asked the question, and so eagerly.

”Might I ask why you asked?”

|| Ayatah's speech || Ayatah's thoughts || Others' speech ||

[Razkar]

”Might I ask why you asked?"

Razkar's eyes flickered from side to side as if he were about to impart a secret. It wasn't... technically secret, but it was... private. Personal. Such affairs hardly ever strayed beyond the mouths and minds of ones clan, and Razkar was unsure about telling an outsider about his commitment. But she had given him no reason for mistrust and even if she did, what would it hurt?

"You remember my mention of a promise?" She nodded, and he jerked his head subtly towards an old, bent figure on the edge of the bonfire. The Shorn Skulls were an almost unbroken black line of shapes and figures around the fire, but she sat alone. And preferred it that way. "Do you see her? That is Mayla. She was an old woman when my mother was younger than I. She has... power. Magic. Call it what you will, but she can call it up."

Razkar turned towards Ayatah and showed her the handle of his gladius. The thigh bone now serving as a hilt, torn from a worthy enemy and now covered in circles and Myrian glyphs.

"She worked the Power of Bones on my weapon. Now my blade it... fits my hand perfectly. And battle rage does not blind me now. Even in the throes of death, I can think clear." His eyes clouded, however, remembering that the gifts bestowed by the Power of Bones always cut both ways. "Or... it gets worse. And I cannot think at all. But the point is, she did not work her magic for free. In return, I am to give her the entire skeleton of a tiger."

Ayatah's eyes widened in shock and her mouth followed suit but before she could say anything Razkar cut her off.

"NotaMyrianone! Not one of the dire creatures our warriors use as mount! A regular tiger." He snorted at that. Really, was there any such thing as an "ordinary" seven-hundred-pound killing machine? "I have tarried on my word a year. I will do so no longer. So, while I am here, I shall track, and hunt, and find, and slay."

The young man nodded firmly. So easy to say, isn't it? To be young and speak and have your words become real. To not know how hard it may be... or to know, and strive anyway. Razkar's eyes flickered back to her, and he paused and looked a long, long time...

"I could use the help."

[Ayatah]

She had automatically leaned in a little once she saw his eyes darting left and right. We must look like whispering children she mused. She remembered how she had done the same with her girlfriends growing up. They would whisper about kissing and boys, and the strange parts of a male’s anatomy. But she guessed that what Razkar was about to share with her was much more ominous.

”Do you see her? That is Mayla.” Ayatah glanced in the direction that he had signaled in. How had she not noticed the solitary figure before? She like to consider herself as an observant individual, but the old woman had certainly eluded her senses.

Ayatah’s eyebrows raised a fraction at the mention of magic. There were whisperings in her own clan of a distant relative who had once toyed with magic. Whether or not that was true, even her Great-Grandmother could not confirm.

Her eyes dropped down to the handle of his weapon, and she admired the beauty of the work upon it. Magic is a beautiful thing, she wondered, but deadly. As she listened to Razkr’s speak of how the weapon effected his in-battle behaviours, her eyes widened with concern. The thing could be help or hindrance, to the point of the death of enemy or Razkar himself. It unsettled Aayatah, but fascinated all the same.

She was about to argue his job of killing a tiger - but he cut her off and ended her argument with his following declarative:

"NotaMyrianone! Not one of the dire creatures our warriors use as mount! A regular tiger."

The way he said ‘a regular tiger’ implied that the job would be easy - that he would be faced with a kitten. But even these ‘regular’ tigers could easily kill a man, if not two or three.

He is certainly ambitious. Ayatah did not know whether she should be impressed or concerned. But his final statement sparked an interest in her, and her dark eyes flashed with interest.

"I could use the help."

”And I could use the diversion.” The prospect of entertainment and adventure promised something Ayatah had not experienced for a while; fun. With a side of potential death, but beggars could not be choosers.

|| Ayatah's speech || Ayatah's thoughts || Others' speech ||

[Razkar]

”And I could use the diversion.”

A lust sparkled in her eyes that one could easily misconstrue. With her face and her body, many a man would feel his own passions inflamed and see something else. But Razkar, for that night, saw it for what it truly was.

Lust for adventure. For new sights and new places. For far deserts and further seas, the wide and weird and wonderful world beyond Falyndar. But for now, a tiger hunt would suffice.

Razkar smiled and his hand reached out. He grasped her shoulder, felt the smooth skin under his palm and met her eyes again.

"Eat your fill. You will need it, for we shall rise early tomorrow." Then he stood, party and feast still whirling and buzzing around him. He looked down at this stranger who had known him for hours, and yet offered her hands and her will in a feat that could kill them both. "I will not forget this."

He strode away, past the light and through the darkness. But as he went, Razkar knew, or rather felt, old and calculating eyes on his back. He did not turn and give her the satisfaction. He did not need to, as he could picture the face they belonged to well enough.

Old Mayla smile to herself in the darkness. About time...

So...I suggest that you cut to the next morning, so we can get ready and set off. Sound good?

[Ayatah]

OocSounds great!

||23rd day of Fall, 509AV || First light, the village of The Shorn Skulls ||

A faint, grey light tickled at Ayatah’s face.

She had slept well - better than she had expected to. The promise of adventure and excitement had left her mind racing and heart pounding with a desire that she had not felt for a long time. But when she had finally laid to rest, her body knew that the different between sleep and insomnia could mean the difference between life and death. For her and Razkar, and she would not have the blood of another Myrian on her want for excitement.

She had dreamt of tigers and bones, of blood, the jungle and sex. But like her body had allowed her to rest and sleep easily in the nighttime, it had woken her the moment that sun had fallen on her skin. She woke up well rested, and began moving about quickly.

Her muscles ached a little from walking on the boggy earth that she had travelled across the day before, so she stretched her long legs to loosen them. Her hair, which had been plaited up so prettily, was matted and knotted from her sleeping. Pulling the clips and bone fastening from within her dark locks, Ayatah let her hair tumble free. She ran a hand through it and yawned hugely.

I should make sure my wares are up or the journey.

Crouching beside the dead bonfire, Ayatah withdrew her blade she wore around her hip. The blade handle was made from the ivory tusks of a Tskanna, with a small ‘A’ engraved in the middle. There were two blades on either side of the handle, with one blade curving slightly to the left, the other to the right. She held the dagger steadily as she inspected it. By running a finger gently up one of the blades, Ayatah learnt just how sharp it is.

She winced and cursed in a whisper, bringing her bleeding finger to her lips instinctively. The cut was not long or deep - just a nick.

Next, her longbow and arrows.

Ayatah and her mother had carved the arrowheads just days before, so Ayatah did not bother testing their sharpness. Instead, she checked the fletching for crooked feathers, the shaft for chips or straggling pieces of wood. All in all, they were in pretty good shape. Her arrow, a luxurious item made of fine horn bent into a sharp ‘S’ shape. It had been expensive, and Ayatah cherished it.

I will be as ready as I will ever be, she eventually decided.

|| Ayatah's speech || Ayatah's thoughts || Others' speech ||

[Razkar]

Razkar woke with the first sounds of the day. Birds cawing to the rising sun. Insects chirping happily, regardless of their aforementioned predators. And, of course, the sounds of his own people.

Dawn had only just begun to rise, but already the Shorn Skulls were busy.

Razkar stood up naked in his family's longhouse and stretched the weariness and tiredness from his muscles. The delicious pain racked him, every ligament tightened... then released... until he could jump lightly on the spot without and shake every limb loose. Once that was done, he pulled on his loincloth, which was all he would wear today.

What he would carry was more important.

His mother's bow. Composite, short, compact, powerful. He had seen her put an arrow through a deer's neck at a hundred yards. He had done the same at half that distance, and he hoped to do better today. The arrowheads in the quiver were smaller, but with barbed bottoms.

Razkar sighed. Poison would be ideal. Something to slow their prey down, paralyze or numb or even kill. Slaying a tiger with arrows was never easy, nor was it particularly safe. And it wasn't just him risking his life out there...

She knows the risks, he told himself, and added earnestly, and she won't be alone.

He moved on to his gladius, which wouldn't help much. If you were close enough to a tiger to swipe at it with a short sword, you were simply too close. They had over a dozen daggers at their disposal, attached to their legs, and they could use them better than you. But it was still reassuring.

The hand ax was a different matter. Razkar was no expert with it, but he'd used it as a thrown weapon before. More than twenty feet and there was no guarantee; closer, and with a big enough target, it was lethal.

And tigers were pretty big.

Then he packed the usual: dried, smoked meat for them to nibble on, two full skins of water, and something his father had left for him before he slept that night. He had seen Zek leave it there before the scarred patriarch of his family had left for the morning hunt, a smile on his aging face, but did not know what it was.

Razkar frowned, opened the tiny leather bottle, and sniffed...

He nearly gagged, but when his coughing was over, he was smiling.

Tiger piss. Not exactly fresh, but potent enough to be scented from miles away by a male. Razkar shook his head. Always the thoughtful little things from family...

When he stepped out into the thin sunlight, jungle canopy still thick as ever, he found Ayatah waiting for him. She carried a bow, too, and had a dagger at his hip. Razkar approached her, looked her over slowly, almost critically, until their eyes met.

He smiled. It was warm. And ready.

"The basin is where they get drink. So does their prey. It is our best place to start."

Then he started walking, not looking back nto check if she was following. He didn't need to.

[Ayatah]

Ayatah had faced a tiger before, but never with such a small hunting party. In the one other case, she had been accompanied by several of her clan, and they had stumbled across an aged male. The old boy had certainly had some fight left in him, but had tired quicker than his more youthful brothers. Still, a couple of her cousins had walked away with huge gashes in their legs and arms.

But now there was just the two of them, and Ayatah did not know the tactics of the other Myrian. There was a certain amount of safety in knowing that he was formidable a hunter and warrior as anyone of their race. But did that give her enough confidence to believe that the two of them would walk out of the jungle alive?

I made my decision, she reassured herself. But had she truly considered the risks? It was easy to agree to do a thing, but it was an entirely different matter to do it. And especially with someone she had not even known for a day. Perhaps this how great stories are formed, and greater friendships.

The promise was enough to make Ayatah stand and take a dagger to her clothes. The dark brown leather armour that she had worn to the Basin yesterday was not proper clothing for a hunt - especially a tiger hunt. It covered her skin from her breasts to well below her navel on the top half of her body, and the on the bottom, reached almost to her knees. Although the protection was better, it slowed her down dramatically. And there was a great chance that speed might save her life today.

She made a small incision with the tip of her dagger, and then dragged the blade horizontally across the bottom of her ribcage, careful to not touch her skin. Ayatah cut through the leather slowly, around the entire circumference of her body. When she was done, her stomach was revealed, but her movements were much less restricted. She did the same to her bottom half, cutting away the limiting leather from each of her thighs. More skin was revealed, but she would be able to run and climb much easier.

Having just completed her handwork, Ayatah froze. She was being looked upon.

Turning around, her dark eyes met with Razkar’s. She inspected what he had decided to bring - some basic preserves as well as his chosen weaponry. But something about on his person made Ayatah wrinkle nose - a smell.

"The basin is where they get drink. So does their prey. It is our best place to start."

She gave a small nod, but did not say anything. Silence would have to be their ally today, as well as each other. A hand went to her hair, and she pulled it up messily - it would be a hindrance otherwise, and it was so damn hot.

Yes, the Basin was the ideal place to start - animals would be gathering there to drink their tiredness away, if not to make a kill for breakfast. As long as they would not end up being the latter, Ayatah felt no concern.

Ayatah fell into walking behind Razkar, a hand resting on the sheathed top blade of her dagger.

It could be a long day.

|| Ayatah's speech || Ayatah's thoughts || Others' speech ||

[Razkar]

The vast emptiness of Falyndar was what killed most of those who did not know her. Razkar had heard of the deserts in the far lands to the south, how there was just limitless sand and burning rock. But a desert was a state of mind, not just a geographical location. It resembled desolation and danger.

Now imagine a land filled with jungle that had to be hacked through with machetes. Imagine it is the size of the entire Sea of Grass, trees hundreds of feet tall, canopy so thick sunlight was nothing but a legend to many on its floor. Imagine it filled with predators and poisonous animals ranging from tree frogs whose venom could wipe out an entire clan, to Myrian Tigers so huge they could take down Tskannas.

Now imagine you're alone inside it, with uncounted miles between you and anything resembling civilization...

Razkar did not feel despair that day as they trekked through the jungle towards the basin. The vegetation changed so much that it was hard to follow, to keep track... but...

This was the jungle of his clan. They had walked it centuries, millenia before the Valterrian, and would stalk it long after his bones were dust. He was not afraid.

"When we get to the basin," he said over his shoulder, picking his way over a massive fallen tree with lichen and moss covering it, "We will use the tiger piss my father gave me. That should attract our prey. If not... there's always other ways."

Razkar inhaled deeply. They had been walking for hours, watchful and careful, and... yes... he could smell the increased moisture on the air, even through the stifling humidity all around them. There were no clouds above them, so that meant only one thing.

They were nearing Kandukta.

[Ayatah]

Ayatah delighted in the smells of the jungle; sweat, pollen, damp. It was a strange concoction that might make outsiders wrinkle their nose, but to Ayatah to smelt familiar and warm. She appreciated the jungle as much as any Myrian, but possibly for slightly different reasons. The jungle would swallow her whole for bells on end, and she would share only the company of the plants and animals. It was where she both emptied her thoughts and collected them.

Her Great-Grandmother had told Ayatah that she had the earth from the jungle and the sand from the desert running through her veins - but the idea of endless sands, no trees or water completely terrified Ayatah. I will swap a death in the jungle for a death in the desert any day.

Despite the retreating waters, the ground was still soft underfoot, even boggy in some places. Such conditions made the perfect surface to preserve paw prints, and Ayatah had kept an eye out for any tracks. There had been a few hoof prints, but nothing that suggested Tigers had crossed this part of the Jungle in the past day.

"We will use the tiger piss my father gave me. That should attract our prey. If not... there's always other ways."

Ayatah’s own clan rarely used tiger urine, if they decided to take on the task of hunting a tiger. Instead, they would use bait - live or dead. It would distract a tiger for longer than urine, they had found. But the downside was that they risked attracting a whole family of tigers, not just a particularly inquisitive male.

”When I was there yesterday, there were plenty of deer.” She said in a musky love voice, ”a fair few were this summer’s young, so easy prey if we need to use bait.”

Somewhere behind them, a bird called loudly, as if it had been startled. Ayatah stopped and turned around, looking into the deep greenness with narrowed eyes. Eventually satisfied that nothing was following them, she faced forwards once more. Birds were flighty things, squawking even if they caught sight of their own shadows, but she had long learnt that they were useful scouts.

|| Ayatah's speech || Ayatah's thoughts || Others' speech ||

[Razkar]

”When I was there yesterday, there were plenty of deer. A fair few were this summer’s young, so easy prey if we need to use bait.”

Razkar thought on that was they kept moving through the foliage. Tiger piss was a potent draw to a tiger but it was... unpredictable. He should have thought of that beforehand. Dealing with one tiger would be difficult enough for the two of them. If three or four showed up? They would die. Plain and simple.

"Bait would be better." He said after a while, ears pricking as he heard the distant lapping of waves. "If we can wound a foal, leave it to cry out... attract our real prey."

He nodded, warming to the idea. The two of them kept moving forwards, ground getting more moist and muddy as they pressed on... until...

Trees and trunks and leaves broke to water. A deep, wide expanse that shimmered from the shore before them to the distant treeline on the other side. The sun was high and clear in the cloudless sky. The water, it was... so clear... you could drink and bathe in it and be perfectly safe.

Razkar smiled. He had almost forgotten. And now the memories returned fresh as morning dew.

"I cannot imagine leaving this," he said, voice barely above a whisper.

Then his put his head back on a swivel, eyes down and looking for tracks in the mud, scrapes of claws and hooves on the trees and roots, ripples on the shoreline from bathing or drinking animals. Time to find some bait.