Closed Into the Eve (Kavala)

[Lydan Verdjak]

4th of Summer, 513 AV, hour after Dusk
The sky was slightly clearl that night, Riverfall was quiet but with the chirps of crickets and the frequenting howls and sounds of animals from outside the City, there were furthermore frogs and frequently, fish leaping and venturing down the riverside, waterfall and bay. It was just outside the Baywatch Apartments that a masculine Akalak figure stood there, peering down into the mysterious scenery of the late Eve.

Lydan held a waterskin full of whiskey in palm, frequenting sips from it as he stared down into the azure water, his gaze thoughtful and passive amongst a rather quiet area. His thoughts were perplexed and curious, he wondered the simplest and also most complex of fears, what he would do with his life. Would he perhaps pursue further into the art of stealth and take up a career as a mercenary or assassin? Or father a few children? Travel? His eyes wiggled, such curiosities, he feared, could plague him for a time.

He adjusted and had a seat in the grass as he continued taking slow swigs from the whiskey, not wanting to loose his liquor or suffer from alcohol's least pleasant effects. It was why he rarely drank, in both personalities.

[Kavala]

The message had come just moments before. Kavala had came into town to see to it, but so far was having no luck finding the small gryfalcon that was reportedly shot through the wing by a young boy's arrow.

The Konti should have been getting close, she thought as she lead the grey stallion she'd rode to town on through the winding streets towards the Overlook Apartments. It was reputed to have been a clean shot, that caused the bird to tumble, right itself, then fly a short ways over towards the Overlook Apartments and then it grounded itself out of the view of the person who witnessed the shooting. It wasn't illegal for young Akalaks to shoot anything like a bird, but it was just unusual for them to try to kill something that wasn't a game bird. And the fact that the boys' mother had sent the messenger to her spoke volumes about the kind of trouble the boy was actually in.

Kavala sent a response that she'd try to look for it, but she knew the more time passed the less hope she'd have for recovering the bird and helping it out. So she'd grabbed some gear, her medical bag, and her mixed blood stallion Ghost and they had rode to town. Once in town, she'd dismounted and despite the stallion not having any headgear on at all, he followed Kavala like a puppy would.

There were people out and about, a few here and there, but none she recognized. There was even an adult Akalak leaning pensively over a rail outside the Baywatch apartments. Kavala noted he didn't seem to be looking around, but rather inside himself as he stood there sipping a waterskin. So she ignored him, writing him off as non-threatening, and took to the rail herself to lean way over and close her eyes as if peering over the edge.

That wasn't exactly what she was doing though.

She opened her senses to the world, freeing her mind from the confines of her headspace, tapping her Konti gift and sensing for an animal and its feelings. There were lots around, but what she was honing in on was shock and pain. An arrow through a wing wouldn't kill a bird, not in and of itself, but if it went into shock over it, death was sure to come.

Down, further than she could reach, down further still than she could see, Kavala could sense the shock and pain of the falcon, hiding among the rocks of the cliff, its wing twisted awkwardly since it could not tuck it up against its body with the arrow still lodged through its wing.

Kavala opened her eyes, going grey a moment, and then glanced around. She wasn't sure what she could do to get to the creature. But her healing gnosis kicked in heavily, demanding that she help.

[Lydan Verdjak]

Lydan opened his eyes of which had shut briefly, having blindly taken sips from the water skin as he glanced towards the Konti, his gaze becoming a stare as he studied her for the time being, the woman seemed to approach with a different vibe about her than the usual Konti woman that lurked to this side of town.

Or perhaps he was just delusional.

Either way he seemed to be content with just watching the woman, already disturbed from his inner monologue and thoughts by her presence. He shifted against the grass, standing up to lean back against the railing again as he tilted his head at her curiously, there was something about her body language that came off as ... different, but he could not simply interpret it right away. So he did the best action he could think of, speaking up.

"Is there something wrong, Miss?" He spoke aloud in Common, his gaze continuing to analytically study her, from the quickness that she decided to lean against the rails to the way in which she opened her eyes, it puzzled him.

[Kavala]

Kavala's mind was busy working out the problem at hand, so when the Akalak spoke, she had to blink a moment and study him again. She was so used to Akalaks speaking Tukant, that she gave him a second look at the common.

"Yes... No... I... I just need to figure this out." She finished, speaking Tukant with the slight hint of a Pavi accent from the Drykas out on the grass. She added a gesture or two with the words that might have been Grassland Sign. She glanced over the rail again, then looked at the stallion waiting quietly a few feet away. He had rope, about fifty feet of it, coiled in his yvas bag, but Kavala wasn't sure it was needed.

She glanced over the railing again, and shook her head. "I think I'll need the rope." She said absently, then glanced up at the man. She flushed slightly, shook her head in apology, and gestured out over the cliff. "I had a messenger ride and meet me saying a gyrfalcon had been hit in the wing by a child's arrow. "I'm an animal healer. They often send for me in cases like this. But its off the cliff, down below, in a dangerous section. I need to climb down and get it, but I don't think I can do so safely without falling unless I tie off with a rope." She added, glancing at the man and giving him another long look.

He moved like a cat. Graceful, yet quiet, with harnessed power that had no bearing on his sheer size. Maybe he could help? Maybe he'd have better ideas... ones that didn't involve walking away and leaving the gyrfalcon alone. "I'm thinking tying a rope off to the stallion. He'll stay standing. Then using him to haul me up once I have the bird." She said, voicing her plan at last. She then looked at her companion, trying to see if her idea would seem solid to the man as well.

[Lydan Verdjak]

He gave a long stare towards the Konti woman as she spoke, his eyes indicating his attention as his tilt furthered slightly with curiosity, peering over towards the stallion and the assortment of ropes. He smiled slyly and nearly smirked as she blushed, but his eyes indicated an understanding of much of the situation that his mouth did not confirm nor acknowledge at the time.

He begun to nod now as she spoke on regarding her plan, "It is a wise idea, slightly risky however as the rope may be uneven or too much, unbalanced to the level or height the animal may be resting on." His gaze followed the cliff as he spoke in Tukant,

"Furthermore you risk tripping and splinting an ankle. It is a lot better than your alternatives, however." He licked his lips, nodding his head with contained interest, "I'm willing to travel down myself in your place though, if it would make you comfortable, or if you know a way for the two of us to head down. Or if you have other ideas."

He took a long pause for her to speak. His stance was attentative, thumbs sticking in his pocket as he glanced between the railing, riverfall, and the Konti woman.

[Kavala]

Kavala looked thoughtful. The rope the stallion had was fifty feet long. Could he hold the weight of both of them? She looked at the Akalak again and nodded. "We can both go down. The bird looks about ten feet down. If I double the rope, tie it off to the stallion, that gives us about twenty feet a piece with the other five feet made up of knots. That should give us twice what we need to get down." Kavala added, turning away to get the rope. She pulled it out of the y'vas bag and uncoiled it, doubling it until she found the halfway spot. There, she tied it off to the big horse and let him settle a moment. Then she handed one end to the Akalak and took one end for herself.

Had she any skill at climbing, she'd have made a harness for herself out of the robe looping it around her legs and waist. But Kavala had no such skill. Instead, she looped it around her waist and tied it off in a square not that would not slip and hurt her if her weight hung off the end of the rope.

Then, when she was ready, she gave a soft whisper to the horse, which turned and faced the cliff, then backed until the rope was taunt. Speaking to him again, she slowly put one foot over the edge, and started down carefully. The stallion kept the rope tight, and only moved forward when the rope needed to take more weight.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Kavala asked, motioning to the ledge ten feet below where the Gryfalcon was. "Come on... the view is amazing." She said with a smile, trying to find off the waves of pain she could already feel coming from the injured bird. What they were doing was undoubtedly stupid, a total stunt that no sensible person should do. But Kavala wanted to get to the gyrfalcon and heal its injury. She had a mews at home it could recover from and a pack slung across her back she could tuck it into for the ride up. All she had left to do was get to it, convince it that she wasn't there to hurt it, and get it topside to treat.

She hoped Lydan would be a big help in that.

[Lydan Verdjak]

Lydan smirked thoughtfully to her suggestion, his brow furrowing as he realized the risks. Well, there were inevitably risks either way, all of which involved gravity and some nature of killing yourself from a distance. As Lydan observed Kavala tying the rope around herself, he decided to imitate the action albeit with an obvious cluelessness as he wrapped the rope around himself and tried his best at formulating a proper tie. He did so in utter silence lest Kavala were to speak, as he finished the .. arguably flawed tie? He wouldn't recall himself as the most dexterous person, but he at least put some spirit into what little he knew. He finally looked over to Kavala for her approval, rubbing his hands and trying to gather up his morale, one would have to require a lot of that in order to do such a potentially lethal task as this.

There was some nervousness in his eyes as Kavala moved to climb the ledge, he reviewed the insanity of the situation, and the unlikelihood of it's success. Slowly, he bottled the feelings of doubt in his mind before easing towards the ledge, slowly bending down and fitting himself over. His arms and legs moved simultaneously as he followed after Kavala just before her voice came calling for him. He didn't do any of this before staring down slightly at the cliff, but he knew his observation would have to come -WHILE- he was climbing. That would just send him into a fearful state beforehand, as he shut his eyes and ignored the distance.

"I'm coming."

As his feet clamored against a suitable surface, he shook with nervousness, and took hold of his breath and started to count down. It was stress, he was going to fall if he didn't control and pull himself together, he was an Akalak. So naturally, he collected himself as he followed the Konti woman to her destination, he knew this would probably result in himself getting hurt or worse for Kavala's sake, but he sympathized with the Konti woman. That it was simply a fundamental requirement to aid her, it was a matter of Akalak culture.

He swore he could feel his fingers about to burst.