Closed [The Bronze Woods] A Walk in the Woods

[Serynia]

83rd Day of Winter, 513 A.V. Syna's rays were peeking through the forest branches as Serynia made her way through the Bronze Woods. She had been walking for a few bells now and was starting to feel some fatigue so when she saw a clearing, she found a nice round rock to sit on to rest her weary feet. She placed her backpack on the ground and rubbed her aching shoulders. This was her first time outside the city walls since entering the gates of Syliras. It was one of her rare days off from her work as a healer at the Soothing Waters and she figured a nice walk would be a refreshing change of pace. But the biggest reason she had decided to wander the woods was that they were starting to run out of soothing salves and she was hoping to find some Jile to make more. Jile was an evergreen shrub and so could be found at all times of the year, even in the dead of winter. It had green nettles that had the aromatic odor of pine with tiny black and brown berries. It was a fairly common plant and she had already harvested quite a few berries and pieces of bark with her eating knife before having found the clearing. The physical exertion of walking had kept her warm but now that she was sitting, she could feel the cold wet snow beneath her leather boots and the chill, icy breath of Morwen on her face. She pulled the hood of her brown cloak over her head and rubbed her hands together to warm them. The rest had renewed her vigor and she grabbed her backpack preparing to head back towards the city. She looked around the clearing only beginning to realize that she couldn't quite remember the direction in which she had come. Oh gods...I can't be lost!

[Letixia Raigner]

Letixia smiled as she finally found a clearing that suited her liking. She had some time off from her studies with Ser Ranqor, so she decided to practice shooting. But her Patron had seen her leaving the dorms with just a her bow and quiver, and scolded her. "A Knight must train in full gear, because that is what you're likely to be wearing when going into combat. Go fetch your armor, shield, and sword and do it right. Or not at all." Thus she was now donning her full armor, kite shield on her back, sword at her left hip, quiver on her right hip, and her borrowed long bow in hand. She felt horribly encumbered. But that was one of the points of training in full armor she supposed. She looked at the tree that would be her target practice for today. It was the widest one she could find without having to go too far into the woods, and also had a good clearing for her to shoot from, as well as level ground. She picked a spot roughly half a bowshot from the tree. She tried to remember the few things she knew about shooting, the first being picking a really small spot on the target. She saw a knot on the tree at about chest height near the center of the trunk. "Okay, let's try this out on my own." Now to work on the proper firing stance. She remembered her instructors telling her to place her feet shoulder width apart, with her lead foot, being her left, slightly to the left of the 'heart line'. She placed her right foot slightly to the right of the line as well. It was more important for her legs to be aligned properly, and not her upper body. She drew an arrow from her quiver with her right hand. She would normally have it upon her back, but the shield being there forced her to keep it elsewhere. She went to nock her arrow, only to realize that she had the cock feather on the wrong side, facing away from her. She twisted it and nocked it properly, resting the shaft atop her finger of her left hand that held the bow. Her right hand reached down, and she slipped her index finger atop the nock, and her second and third fingers beneath it. It annoyed her how long it was taking for her to get this process down, but practice made perfect, and it would eventually speed up. She curled her fingers around the string, so all three of her first knuckles were aligned with one another. She tucked her thumb down into her palm, and her right hand was ready to draw. She centered her gripping hand, preparing herself for the part that was hardest for her to master. When she drew, she had to relax her drawing hand, as well as the fingers of gripping hand. But the bow was so strong, she found it incredibly difficult to do. She extended her gripping arm, remembering to not lock it. She then raised it upwards, slowly, until her gripping arm was parallel with the ground. Her drawing arm raised with it as well, the elbow raising high with it. She took one preparatory breath before she drew. And now it is time. She began her draw, trying to use her back muscles more than her arm muscles, taking in a breath simultaneously. She drew until her hand rested against her cheek. Her index finger was pressed to jaw, her thumb against her neck. And began the tiring hold and aim. She held the draw while her eyes focused on the wooden knot. She tried to only see that, let your eyes aim, not your body. Her back muscles were not happy with her holding the draw for so long. She uncurled all three of her fingers at the same time, to let the string slide away. She felt her back muscles pull her arm back, her hand by her face now. She did her best to keep her bow steady on the follow through, but it was a bit wobbly. The arrow at first seemed like it would fly true. Until it passed right by the tree, thunking on another tree out of sight. "Petch."

[Serynia]

Before she had a chance to start panicking about how she was going to find her way back to Syliras, Serynia's thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of the young girl on the other side of the clearing. The girl was dressed in full armor with a kite shield on her back, a sword at her side, and a long bow in hand. Instinctively Serynia's hand had started to reach for her own short sword at her belt when she realized that the young girl had not even noticed her. Serynia remained still and quiet choosing to observe before taking any action. Judging by her armor, Serynia guessed her to be a squire or knight of the Syliran order. She had seen many a crest of the Windoak on the armor of other knights and squires that often came with injuries needing to be healed at the Soothing Waters. The girl seemed to be intently focused on aiming an arrow at a tree. Ah she must be out in the woods to practice her archery skills. No wonder she didn't notice me. I'd better not disturb her in the middle of her shot, Serynia thought. When the arrow flew past the tree and disappeared into the woods, the girl cursed. Serynia tried to stifle it, but a giggle escaped her lips. Horrified at her own rudeness, she quickly tried to apologize, "Sorry I didn't mean to laugh. I'm sure if it was me, I would've missed the tree by a much bigger distance." In an effort to fill the awkward silence that ensued, Serynia continued rambling on, "I didn't mean to disturb you. I was just taking a walk through the woods looking for some herbs when I seemed to have gotten myself lost. If you would be so kind as to point me in the right direction towards Syliras, I'll quickly be out of your way."

[Letixia Raigner]

Leti instantly whirled around the moment she heard a female voice laughing at her misfortune. Her face was instantly red, her eyebrows furrowed in embarrassment and anger. The woman immediately apologized though, and Leti's fury quickly abated. No need to take out her frustrations on poor civilians. Leti then put on her official squire hat, so to speak. "You didn't disturb me, it was my fault for not minding my surroundings and failing to notice your arrival. We're pretty close to the city in all honesty, perhaps, fifteen chimes that way." Leti pointed to the southwest, using the sun as her identifier. "Would you like me to show you the way?" "I'll be right back, I'm going to go retrieve my arrow." Leti stalked off into the distance not having to go far downhill until she saw her arrow sticking out of a tree, a couple of arm reaches above her head. She sighed, and began peeling off all of her gear. Climbing a tree was hard enough without all of her gear weighing her down and getting in the way. She rolled up her sleeves and tried to plan her ascent. There was a low lying branch that looked strong enough to hold her weight on the right of the tree, and another even lower on the left. She suspected that she could reach the lower branch if she jumped. She got over beneath it, slightly away from it, and began doing knee bends in preparation for her jump. She squatted way down, and leapt upward her hands scrambling to grasp at the branch. She managed to get one hand on it, but the momentum of the swing and flailing of her arms caused her to slip off. She landed on her back with a thud, knocking the breath out of her before she could even curse. She picked herself back up, and squatted once more, this time remembering to be smoother in her transition. She sprang upwards, and managed to get both hands on the branch this time and gripped it tight. She slowly pulled herself up into a straddling, sitting position on the branch. Using her hands to balance herself against the trunk, she stood up slowly, carefully. She certainly didn't want to fall from up here. She turned her body around so that her torso faced the trunk of the tree. The branch on the opposite side wasn't too far away, but would require a small leap of faith. She leaned as far toward it without falling off her current branch, and jumped into nothingness. Her right hand grasped firmly onto the branch and her body swung outwards, scaring the petch out of her. But she managed to hold on. Then her body swung backwards, colliding with the trunk of the tree loosing an "Oof" from her mouth. She still held her grip, now getting her other hand on the branch, but she had no air in her lungs currently. She hung their limply for a while, the strength in her hands waning as she gained her breath back. She then started tightening her back and stomach muscles, pulling herself up and onto the branch. Once there, she was easily able to reach up and grab the arrow from the tree and sit there to rest. SNAP! The branch beneath her gave out and she found herself sprawled on the ground in pain. Her rump was certainly bruised, her ankle was throbbing, and she'd managed to break the arrow she'd gone to retrieve. She didn't notice the shallow, though large gash it had made along the side of her calf though. She gathered up her gear, bundling it up in a manner that only squires and knights had mastered, and carried it in her arms. She limped her way back to where she'd left the woman, wondering if she was still there.

[Serynia]

Serynia was relieved when the girl with the long wavy brown hair and green-brown eyes mentioned that the city was only fifteen chimes away. She had apparently been walking for bells looking for the Jile but must've made a huge loop at some point and circled back closer to where she had started. Thankful for the offer, Serynia replied, "If you're heading back to the city then I would love to have you show me the way. I have to admit that I'm not very good with directions and knowing me, I'd probably get lost again and I'd hate to be stuck out in these woods after dark." The thought made her shiver in fear. While she had brought some basic provisions in her backpack she was not sure she was prepared for an overnight stay. Who knew what kind of creatures came out at night and although she carried her shortsword as protection at all times, she was not very skilled with it's use. When the girl mentioned that she needed to go retrieve her arrow, the Konti thought it was best to wait for her. After all there was some small measure of safety in numbers rather than being alone. She heard some rustling and the sound of a thud. A few ticks passed before there were further noises and then a loud snap. Starting to feel concerned, Serynia was just about to look for the girl to see if she needed any help when she saw her returning to the clearing. The girl was carrying her gear in her arms and limping with a huge gash on her calf. "You're injured!" Serynia exclaimed. "I work as a healer at the Soothing Waters and I bear the mark of Rak'Keli. If you would like, I can take a look at your wound and heal it. If you leave it unattended, the cut could get infected."

[Letixia Raigner]

Leti half dismissed the Healer's ramblings about her being injured. It was just a slightly sprained ankle. Then Leti realized that she wasn't looking at her right ankle that was limping, but her left. She looked down, pulled up her pant leg a bit, and saw a long, shallow gash down the inside of her calf. She sighed, and resigned herself to the Healer's hands. At least she was lucky enough to get injured while she was here. She limped her way over to a small rock, setting her gear down next to it. She sat down and pulled her pant leg up past the knee. "Do we need to go into town for you to get anything to work on this? Or is this fine as is?" Now that she noticed her injury, it stung a good bit. She wondered if it would scar, not that she minded either way. She said a quick prayer before the Healer went to work. Sylir, thank you for providing the peace to allow us to walk through these woods of yours unmolested. Yahal, please help to keep my body and mind strong, to keep me pure. Rak'keli, please help this Healer of yours to heal my wound. Thank you for sending her to me in my time of need. Her prayers finished, she looked up at the young Healer smiling, ready to get this done and over with.

[Serynia]

The Konti healer followed the human female as she limped her way over to a rock and sat down. Squatting down beside her to take a closer look at the wound, the healer replied in answer to the girl's question, "The cut seems to be fairly shallow so I am confident I can heal it without having to go back to town." Serynia placed her hand on the wound and closing her eyes she reached out to her link with the goddess Rak'Keli, channeling the essence of her power to repair the damage. There was a faint glow that emanated from her hand and in a short moment the wound had completely closed up and was healed. "My name's Serynia by the way. It's very nice to meet you. Who knows how long I might've been walking around lost if you hadn't shown up when you did." She reached out her hand and offered it to the girl to shake, hoping she would take it. The Konti was quite shy and even though she had met many patients in her work as a healer, it was very rare that she was able to make a connection with someone that might hopefully deepen into a friendship. And even though the girl seemed quite young, when she had appeared dressed in her full armor she had looked very competent...like someone who could take care of herself. Curious to learn more about the girl, Serynia asked, "What's your name? Do you often come to the woods to practice with your longbow?"

[Letixia Raigner]

Leti always found it a little strange to watch a wound close like this. It was amazing what a god's blessing could accomplish. But if she thought it looked strange, it felt even weirder. It was a bit itchy, and foreign to feel skin moving as it did. Leti then realized that she'd completely forgotten her manners, probably due to her annoyance earlier. "Pleasure to meet you Serynia, I'm Letixia Raigner, squire to Ser Ranqor Grayne. And you probably would've been found by one of the patrols had you not come across me. But I'm quite grateful that you did," she said while looking down at the now missing wound. Leti stood up and shook her hand, firmly, but keeping in mind to not hurt the small healer's hand. She then gestured toward the southwest, the direction of the city, "Shall we?" The girl definitely seemed to have a kind heart and was probably just socially awkward. And who was to say that Leti wouldn't have laughed if she'd seen her miss the tree by that much? "And no, I don't come here often, though I will certainly be starting to soon. The woods aren't the best training place during the Winter. What brings a Healer out here?" That was one philosophy that she always found herself at odds with. While she certainly felt that all citizens of Syliras should have the freedom to do as they pleased, so long as it didn't hurt another, but there was also the importance of people. A Healer really shouldn't be wandering out alone in the woods, no matter how heavily patrolled they are, bad things still happen. If a Healer died, then more people could possibly die because of it.