Flashback Clever Trick

[Viridae Kabre]

Timestamp: Day 14, Winter, 510 AV
Location: Kalea Wilds, Just outside Kalinor

Viridae pulled his silk scarf tighter about his face and squinted as snow caked his long silver lashes. He struggled against the wind and massive heaps of snow that came up to the tops of his boots to press onwards in pursuit of the wolf. He trudged onwards, hunched over in an attempt to follow the quickly faded wolf tracks in the snow. On the plus side, the blizzard was masking his approach, and the wolf couldn't have been more than three hundred feet in front of him. Unfortunately, nearly impassible sheets of snow where blowing straight into Viri's face. He couldn't even see the jet black wolf, and judging by the distance between tracks, It was also struggling against the storm. Beyond the clearing lay a tree line, that should serve as shelter from the violent storm, and although it couldn't have been more than a five hundred feet away, it seemed like it was miles in the distance. Young winter was cruel and unrelenting, wicked and unpredictable.

He trudged on as the snow reached his knees. This was bad. Very likely the most violent he had ever seen this close to Kalinor. Before long he broke the tree line, and the storm was far more controlled. White flakes fluttered softly beneath the cover of the tall pines, glittering in the white light of a cloud covered sun. To Viridae's annoyance, the wolf's tracks where far apart now, indicating it had bolted as soon as it reached cover. He grunted and began to set up camp, realizing in that moment that the storm was too intense to leave the cover of the pines and pursue the wolf, and to intense for him to return home.

[Viridae Kabre]

That night Viridae did not sleep much. As he curled in the silken cocoon, freezing, he couldn't ward away the nagging feeling that someone was watching him. He had spent a good amount of time by the fire side, hungry and tired, longing to return home to Kalinor, and by time he was tired enough to sleep he lay awake, peering into the dark through the stretched silk, hoping he wasn't being stalked by some sort of predator.

He awoke in the morning after sleeping just a few hours and began to pack his things. To his disbelief, most of the fire wood, which he had left smoldering when he retired, looked like it had been dragged off through the trees. He dismissed the thought and chalked the strange occurrence up to being so exhausted and eager to sleep. After packing for the day, he stood in the small area that served as his campsite, torn between attempting to pursue the wolf and turning back.

Finally, he grunted and walked in the direction the wolf's faint tracks were leading, almost a mile through the tree line. Viridae took care to mark where he had been, especially since tracks could be covered in the winter. The wolf seemed to be moving at a slow pace, as if it wasn't going anywhere specific, nor running, simply wandering through the area. Very strange behavior for a wolf. Stranger still, it wasn't small, and looked very menacing the first time he laid eyes on it. Usually wolves like that where alpha's amongst a pack, not left lone to wander. Surely it wouldn't be long before the creature succumb to starvation during the Kalean winter without others to hunt with.

[Viridae Kabre]

Viridae trudged on, the cold air nipping at his lungs like needles. He could feel that he was getting closer now, and thought the wolf would sense his presence and hurry its pace, though it didn't. It just continued on through at its leisurely stride. Maybe it had given up. Perhaps it knew it wouldn't survive the winter and wanted to die. Maybe it knew how close he was and planned on attacking him when he got close enough. Viridae wasn't sure, but he hoped it wasn't the latter.

As he walked looking at the wolf's tracks, he looked up, suddenly aware that the sting of the wind had returned, although this time it was not accompanied by snow. He stood and a vast clearing, nearly in the center. As began to look back down to the tracks, his heart skipped a beat and he froze. The wolf was no more than two hundred feet in front of him, staring at him through yellow, almost glowing eyes. It lowered its head and growled, revealing a set of extremely sharp white teeth. Its hair was standing up and its ears were back. It spread its front legs and continued to stare at him. Viridae had never been so afraid of a creature in his life. He began to back away slowly and the beast let out a short, but very shrill bark. He paused for a moment before continuing to back away. It never moved, but continued to growl, snarling to reveal its red gums. He slowly reached back for his bow, and the beast barked again, this time shifting forward an inch or so. He lowered his hands and continued to back away, until he heard a sound, somehow more terrifying than the beast. He stopped as he heard it again. Something beneath his feet began to crack, and he suddenly realized it was not a clearing he was crossing, but a lake.

[Viridae Kabre]

As the ice cracked beneath Viridae's feet, the wolf began to bark uncontrollably, but refused to move an inch. Then in a moment that seemed to take him completely by surprise, The ice gave way beneath his feet, and Viridae fell through.

He flapped his arms uncontrollably, muscles both fighting to keep him up, and battling the stinging cold that plagued his entire being and chilled him to his core. He felt his movements grow slower and gulped in one last breath of winter air before his head sunk beneath the surface. As he sank into the black abyss the only thing visible above him was the hole in the ice. Then in an instant, his vision had faded to black.

[Viridae Kabre]

Viridae awoke to the sky moving slowly over head. At first he could hear a faint dragging sound, but when he attempted to move his head, he couldn't. His eyes wandered downwards to his feet, and he discovered he was being dragged. He was being dragged....Then he remembered everything. The ink black wolf, those yellow eyes, and falling through the ice. He tried to sit up, to throw his arms in protest, but failed in both attempts. He couldn't even feel anything. He was completely numb from the neck down, and his lips quivered with cold. His eyelids felt heavy on his face and he wondered for a moment if he had died. Then he thought of how silly the notion was, and wondered just who had pulled him from the lake and where they were dragging him off. For all he knew they could be pulling him by the hair. He could feel nothing. His eyelids closed for a moment and when he opened them again he was back in the cover of the tree line, his abductor pulling him over roots and rocks. He tried to call out but the only sound to escape his lips was a low and helpless groan. "Shhhh," Said a distinctly feminine whisper, slow and soothing. His head rolled lazily on his shoulders and he groaned again. "Hush, its alright," Said the voice again. Clearly this was not one of his race, for she was speaking common. His eyes fluttered shut for another moment, and when he re awakened he was at his re-located fire pit, and to his horror, he was naked. Whoever had pulled him out left him lie on the ground near a freshly blazoned fire, and he could not get site of them. He panicked for a moment, sure that he would die here, alone in the wilderness. Suddenly a warm hand brushed his cheek and rolled his head to lay in the other direction. He peered into the face of the woman, squinting against the blur at the fringes of his vision.

She was young looking, most likely no more than nineteen, very fair skinned with striking yellow eyes, thin dark brown lips, and long flowing raven colored hair. From beneath her bottom lip, the tip of a sharp canine poked upwards. Around her body she wore nothing but Viridae's red silk scarf, wrapped twice tightly around her waist, and twice around her breasts. On her collar bone, he could vaguely make out a long scar that raced the length of it, thin and almost the same dark brown as her lips. He blinked slowly at her, unable to speak with the woman.

"I'm so sorry," She said lightly as she stroked his hair before standing and walking gracefully from his field of vision. She crossed back into his line of sight a moment later carrying a thick deer hide and laid it on the ground next to him, before rolling him onto it and covering his body with its other half. "I tried to warn you, but you would not listen."

He groaned again as feeling began to return to his body. Suddenly he erupted in shivers and tried to sit up. She placed her hand on his chest and pushed him back down lightly, pulling the hide tighter about him. He groaned in protest and felt his eyes flutter. He tried to fight sleep, but could not and in less than a chime he was snoozing heavily.

[Viridae Kabre]

Viridae awoke to the smell of food and soft singing. He closed his eyes and breathed deep, focusing on the girl's song. It was soft and high pitched, strange, new and very foreign performed in a language he did not understand. Then he began remembering everything that had happened in the past few bells. Hunting the wolf, falling into the lake, Her strange voice and nearly naked body. Those yellow eyes. Then it dawned on him. She was Kelvic. The answer was so obvious he almost smacked himself for being so stupid, now that he had the ability to move again. He lifted his head and propped it onto his arm, turning on his side to face the woman in front of the fire. She glanced at him over her shoulder and continued to sing, as she lifted a stone bowl away from the fire and set turned to face him. She lifted the steaming bowl to his face and he sipped it slowly. It tasted very musky, but was obviously sweetened with honey. He finished the liquid and looked back up at the girl, Azure eyes gleaming in the glow of the fire. "I...." He began. She placed a hand over his mouth and smiled kindly at him, before leaning in and kissing his cheek.

She sat back upright and looked to the fire again, yellow eyes made red in its light. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused," She said lightly. From the tone of her voice, Viridae could tell she was being very sincere. "I knew you where tracking me, and I led you to a place you almost met your death. It was never my intention to hurt you, and for that I'm truly sorry." He opened his mouth to speak again and she grabbed his jaw with a large slim hand, pointed nails poking at his cheek. "Do not speak, I don't know if I could leave if I heard your voice." Her eyes told what her heart was speaking. They were large and full of desire and regret, though she didn't look at all conflicted about her decision.

[Viridae Kabre]

He closed his eyes and leaned into her hand, feeling comfort in the warmth of her palm. She pulled his face close to hers and kissed him lightly on the lips, parting them slightly, her eyes closing delicately as their cheeks brushed against one another. Viridae parted his as well and they sat there like that for what had seemed like an eternity. He was suddenly happy that he had decided to track the wolf, happy about falling into the ice, and thrilled that she had saved him. She pulled away slightly and began to sing again, as he closed his eyes and lay back down, her words drifting delicately through his mind as a moth fluttering towards a light.

When Viridae awoke, the fire was still a blaze and his clothes and backpack lay folded by the fire. He sat up and glanced around, searching for the Kelvic girl, but finding no one. He sighed and leaned back, supporting the weight of his slender body against his arms. The pure strangeness of the encounter seemed to far fetched to have actually been real, though he could feel that it was. That night, he searched for any sign, any trace of where she had gone, but found nothing, though he expected she would not leave tracks. After all, this was not a fairy tail, this was the world. And no matter how much he wished the story could end with a happily ever after, he knew it wouldn't.

[Ensnare]

Viridae

Skill	XP Gained
Tracking	2
Observation	3
Acrobatics	1
Swimming	1

Lore Gained

Tracking a Lone Wolf

Noting Strange Wolf Behavior

Saved by a Mysterious Kelvic Wolf

One Sorrowful Kiss in the Wilderness

Items/Consequences: N/A

If you feel I have graded you unfairly, or if you have any questions, please send me a PM and we'll work the problem out.

Notes :

I saw the potential to expand upon certain subjects, such as making a mark to keep track where you have been, and actually setting your camp up via writing it out.. But for another thread sometime perhaps?

Otherwise, t'was a cute thread, whilst I was reading I had my suspicions he was tracking a kelvic due to the foreshadowment of strange wolf behavior.

Also, where and when does he learn about kelvics? Another plot to explore I suppose, makes for good threads. Keep 'em coming!

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