Talking to the Dead(Jilitse)

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden shoveled the last of his food into his mouth as he looked up at Jilitse as she continued to shuffle around the camp nervously on alert. “Scavengers won’t come into camp, so you can relax.” Jaeden said idly, setting his plate aside before motioning towards the deer carcass. “It’d take a brave one to simply wander towards the edge and take nips at the carcass there.”

Jaeden then pushed himself from his seat, wiping his hands and mouth clean of food as he gave a sigh of contentment at the meal, his gaze traveling over towards Jilitse as he shook his head at her comment of skill. “I’ll let you in on a little secret,” Jaeden the said as he began moving back towards the carcass for the final time, getting set to loosen the ties that kept it held in the air, “most slavers or bandits you’ll encounter out here won’t be that skilled with weapons either. They tend to rely on numbers and intimidation to force those they’re after into submission before having to fight for it. It’s groups like The Black Sun who you would have to be nervous around. Though they don’t frequent these areas at all, so no worries there.”

Jaeden took another look up at the sky, noting the position of the sun before he cut down the carcass to the ground. “In any event, while a sickle isn’t a weapon I’ve used, I could possibly give you some pointers in it,” Jaeden then offered before reaching down and grabbing the forelegs of the carcass, looking back to Jilitse. “At the very least, get you started and possibly comfortable in it’s use.”

Jaeden then paused as he looked off in the direction of the pond when she asked about his time. He then gave a slow shake of his head. “Nah, it isn’t any trouble. It’s only about six mile away from here.” Jaeden then commented, reaching up to give a slight scratch to the white streak of hair that rested along the back of his head. “It should only take us three bells to reach there give or take a few chimes. Provided we don’t run into any trouble along the way anyhow.”

Jaeden then began dragging the carcass away from camp. “Sit tight for a moment, I’m just going to drag this away for the scavengers to pick apart.” Jaeden then said, giving a quick smirk. “You’ll possibly be able to concentrate a little better that way. You’re getting a little fidgety with them scurrying around out there.”

Jaeden then moved into the thick of the forest, dropping out of sight, though Jilitse could still hear him in the short distance as he called out crack comments towards animals such as, “Don’t get your fur in a bunch, it’s coming,” and “I get it, you got teeth, doesn’t mean I’m impressed.” Whether he made these comments to make Jilitse nervous over the fact that animals were actually present, or to calm her nerves to let her know that he was still within ear shot, she could only guess, but after a few chimes, Jaeden had finally returned to camp, brushing his hands off along his pants, giving a a glance over his shoulder as he stepped back into camp.

“They certainly like the handouts.” Jaeden commented before looking over at Jilitse. “Anyhow, let me get a look at how you move with that weapon while I strip my equipment back on and we’ll work from there. We’ll start off for the Pond once I’ve strapped everything on.”

[Jilitse]

The Nuit took Jaeden's little secret, though that eased her a bit, she nonchalantly asked, "The Black Sun? Who are they? They frequent the wilds, too?" She did not bother to conceal her groan. She felt somewhat incompetent for not doing her investigation properly, "How dangerous are they compared to slavers, do they wield better weapons, are they warriors?" Oh, would she ever become comfortable in using her sickle? She waved it about, not caring for an exact direction nor the application of force - she was Nuit, and she should not strain her body too much. She immediately knew her weak point, but was quick to offer Jaeden her positive marks, "I may be slow but I can be rather precise if I want to." She made another slicing motion in the air, this time a graceful sweep.

"Well, let us expect we do not get into trouble. I wish for you to return to tracking Olevar as soon as you can." She added as an afterthought, "Can you still track if it's dark already? How do you know when or where you should stop?" She waited for a reply and waited for him to return.

She circled his camp, craning her neck to peer as far as she can. Somehow, with all the talk about slavers and danger, Jilitse's self-preserving instinct spiked. The thought of the pulled away carcass luring away all those mean little creatures was somewhat a relief. But then again, technically, wasn't she a carcass herself?

She flicked the blade at a bush's leave. It sliced the green smoothly and got snagged a little at the branches. Jil had to pull her arm back to gain control. When Jaeden returned, Jil was puzzled a bit. Was Jaeden offering to teach her how to use the sickle? Under what contract? She asked him this and, once satisfied with his answer, she stepped back away from the human and stood perfectly still. Her posture was commendable. Even with the unsightly state of decay, she seemed to be in control of her body. The Nuit showed Jaeden graceful horizontal arcs by sweeping the sickle left and right, moving the weapon in her hand as if flouncing a fan.

"I feel somewhat inept and stupid doing this," Jilitse remarked.

After receiving a few comments from her accidental mentor, she tried a lunge attack by sliding one foot forward and striking at the air with an upward slash. Ham-fisted as she was in using a sickle, her slash sent the instrument flew above their heads in an arc, causing, yet again, sudden sense of escaping for Jilitse, who skipped out of harms way towards Jaeden. The movement threw her balance off, sending her to careen and trip on her own feet, bumping towards the human before slipping down the forest floor in an unceremonious thump!

She waited for a few moments before even trying to get up, the fall wasn't so bad as Jaeden served as a human cushion for her. Still, the impact was overwhelming. She was harked into the reality of pain. It was almost exhilarating for her as she mumbled, "Ow..." Pushing her torso up, looking up to Jaeden for any help he might offer, Jilitse wiggled and smiled. She stood upright and tried to search for her sickle, asking Jaeden if he saw where it landed. Defending one's self was a stupid thing to learn especially if you were a Nuit, but the idea of learning something new, something she never tried and would have never learned in Sahova, made Jilitse quite interested with Jaeden and his teaching. The pain splashed all over her.

"I could say that I'm a Nuit hence I'm a lout, but I'm not letting that dissuade me." She asked, "What do you think?" She dusted off leaves and dirt from her cloak and felt her body for any wound or bruise. Nothing major. Let's carry on, she thought.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden dragged his thumb along his lower lip, rubbing away some remnants of the food he had been eating earlier away. Jaeden gave a slow shake of his head. “Don’t worry about it,” Jaeden said when she asked him about tracking Olevar, “he’s not far from here anyhow. I should be able to find his camp in a quarter of a day when I get back to it.”

Jaeden slowly began circling around her, observing her movements as his hands slipped down to his waist. “I haven’t encountered them myself, but I hear the Black Sun is a radical militant group of sorts, a cult devoted to following the God Rhysol and his machinations.” Jaeden then explained, stopping in front of Jilitse as she held out the Sickle, getting ready. “The Sylirian Knights encounter them from time to time. They travel in groups, are well armed and organized, and often know how to use the weapons they carry. They’re more or less trained soldiers, like the Knights, only evil. Don‘t worry about that, though. There are none in this area, otherwise I would have spotted their tracks while scouting and moved on to another place.”

Jaeden gave a slow shrug when she commented about feeling inept and stupid about the practice then, raising a hand to slowly rub at his chin. “Well, better to feel inept and stupid practicing a lot, than inept and stupid in a real fight.” Jaeden commented as tilted his head while she moved, observing the sickle in motion. “Everyone starts off that way anyhow.”

Jaeden then raised a brow when she attempted her upward slash, and then widened his eyes as she stumbled forward, bumping into him, his arms reaching outwardly as she fell, hooking under her own arms and lowering his frame to arrest the speed of the fall as she did. Contact had happened, and Jaeden’s eyes almost glossed over for a moment as his sight looked over her shoulder, staring at the ground idly. Desires mixed as Jilitse’s own began to invade Jaeden’s sense of being, mingling first with his own and then slowly pushing them away. He immediately felt her thirst for knowledge, of the things she didn’t understand as well as her want to arrive to the lake unharmed. For now, her desires seemed to rest at the task at hand as Jaeden’s eyes closed, his body half crouched almost cradling Jilitse’s frame in his arms. He soon found himself all to easily slipping into the role of a teacher.

Jaeden slowly began to stand, his hands resting on the underside of Jilitse’s arms as he supported her on her own climb back to her feet. “It’s something new, and I wouldn’t let you be dissuaded by such.” Jaeden replied as she commented on her mistake. “Everyone falls, everyone. It’s how and if we pick ourselves back up that matters.”

Jaeden then slowly began to circle around Jilitse, his fingers sliding along the surface of her robed arm before standing behind her. “You’re on the right track, but your mindset for the weapon is a little off.” Jaeden then commented. “This weapon is curved, and short to boot. If you have to lunge, your already too far away for it to be effective.”

Jaeden slowly reached forward, his hand resting along Jilitse’s wrist that held the sickle, his head resting beside her own with his chin hovering lightly over her shoulder. “A weapon like this, will be about slipping inside the guard of someone else’s weapon. Most will be armed with weapons like swords and spears that will have a longer reach, so you’ll want to start practicing movements of your body that practice avoidance, ducking and dodging a blade. Plus, since the blade is curved, it will be difficult to block with the flat of the blade, and while it would be simple to block with the edge, the curve acting like a catcher of sorts, such will chip away and dull your own edge, leaving it vulnerable to breaking.”

Jaeden then slowly turned Jilitse’s wrist, and began guiding her arm in a slow sweeping motion that arched upwardly and downwardly in front of her, sweeping as if cutting through the space between her and an imaginary opponent. “So when you have to defend using your weapon, you’ll want to use a parry.” Jaeden then explained, still going over the movements for Jilitse to familiarize herself with, until her movements began to pull away from Jaeden, doing them on their own. “A parry should effectively neutralize every attack an opponent throws at you except for slashes that come from side to side. Thrusts, and slashes that come from side to side can be pushed away, taking far less energy to defend than it would for your to outright block them. For the attacks that come from side to side, you will have to dodge, or risk your weapon in a block.”

Jaeden then stepped back, letting Jilitse practice the movements at her own pace. “The sickle, by nature, won’t be about power in attacking or defending.” Jaeden then finally said, stepping off to the side. “It will be about fluid movement and precise attacks.”

[Jilitse]

The Nuit gave a slight start as Jaeden touched her, this time without the pretense of an accident. Physical contact was something that Jil did not often experience, mainly because of the stigma against the undead. Nobody wanted to touch the plague bringers. As he stood by her side, she was suddenly aware of his presence. His life. His beating heart. She was momentarily distracted by his pulse, she could heart it clearly, without a pulse of her own to deaden the sound. Slipping inside the guard of someone else's weapon sounded like it wasn't very easy - Jil had never tried dodging a blade. She listened eagerly to Jaeden's words. Do not block with the flat of the blade, do not use the curve as a catcher of sorts. The first would be difficult, and the latter will dull her weapon.

She was resistant to his motions at first, but soon relaxed. Jaeden wasn't harming her. His proximity was needed in order to teach her the correct movement. His hand soon persuaded Jilitse to sweep arcs slowly. She imagined an opponent in front of her, a woman without a face. Drainira. It helped fuel her desire to learn to protect herself. She envisioned her archnemesis, an ethereal enemy sliced over and over and over again. "So I just keep doing this?" Of course.

She continued doing this until the tension in her joints eased and she was no longer bothered by Jaeden's imminence. Soon he allowed her to repeat what he taught her on her own. Slash, slash, slash. Gentle sweeping arcs.

"A parry sounds hard to do," Jilitse said thoughfully, "as the body of a Nuit might be too frail to handle the force. Our corpse degenerates with the passing of time." Jilitse tried to understand what it meant to push an attack from side to side. "Dodge sounds like a better option than blocking." She tried to imagine taking the full brunt of a pulser's attack. Neutralizing such force might break her body!

True, she would have to agree with Jaeden, perhaps the sickle was a right choice after all. She cannot attack nor defend herself appropriately, but she can think fast enough to hit or hit back accurately. Fluid movement and precise attacks. "I think I got the essentials. But I'm sure I cannot do a proper parry."

"What did you mean by ducking?" The man was a good teacher, but there was a huge gap in his expertise and her conventional knowledge. There were things to understand outside Sahovan context. Jilitse stared back at Jae. She paused sweeping arcs, and touched her wrist lightly. The warmth of a pulser unnerved her a bit.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden continued to circle around her, observing her movements as she practiced him. “For the moment, yes.” Jaeden said when she posed her first question. “You practice a move enough, the body alone begins to remember the motion and it becomes much easier to do such when you need to. Muscle memory I believe they call it.”

Jaeden’s hands then rested along his waist as he looked up to Jilitse for a moment, tilting his head and giving a shrug. “True enough, a dodge would be a better option. It requires less energy on your part,” Jaeden replied as he stepped over to the nearby tree, leaning against it, “but someone can normally swing their arm, even with a weapon in it, faster than someone can move their body out of the way.”

Jaeden slowly motioned for Jilitse to continue the motions for a bit more. “The thing is, you won’t be taking the full brunt of force of an aggressors attack parrying it, your simply directing that force elsewhere.” Jaeden said as he reached up, tugging at the short strands of facial hair that lined his chin. “Think of it this way: Water flows down a river, if the path of the water is suddenly stopped, the water will continue to crash over what’s stopping it, eroding the land and eventually forming a lake. However, the shores of the river before all of that, whether their curved or simply strait, remain relatively unchanged, directing the water on it’s natural coarse and only widening slightly due to water erosion over centuries worth of time. Blocking an attack is the same as whatever is stopping the water‘s flow, it eventually gets broken down under so much force. Parrying is the river‘s shores guiding the water‘s flow along it‘s path, it doesn‘t stop the water‘s energy and force, but merely directs it. With a parry, you‘re directing the energy of that force away from you, like a bend in the river, rather than trying to stop it.”

Jaeden waited for a moment before Jilitse asked about ducking. He couldn’t help but smirk at it, but refrained from laughing as he pushed himself off his lean along the tree. A couple of steps carried him from the distance between him and Jilitse before he stood in front of her. “Ducking is a form of dodging.” Jaeden said as he looked Jilitse in the eyes. “It’ll be easier to just show you, so if you would, swing your sickle at me from the side?”

Jaeden then waiting patiently, observing Jilitse as silence passed over them. When he saw the motion starting, his legs bent at the knees and his body dropped down into a crouch as Jilitse’s swing passed over him, cutting through only open air. When she looked down at him, he was looking back up with a smile as his hands were resting along the top of his legs, his hands clasped together as his fingers were laced together. “This is ducking. Simply dropping down into a crouch as an attack flies over you.” Jaeden explained. “When attacked from either side, you can’t really parry a weapon. If you can’t block it, you’re only left with backing up to escape the reach the weapon has, or ducking below it.”

Jaeden then dropped to one knee, giving his legs a bit of a rest from the crouched positing. “Backing up from an attack will, of course, make sure you aren’t harmed by it, but it also puts you out of reach for an attack of your own. If you duck under an attack though,” Jaeden said as he reached out, pointing at Jilitse’s ankles, knees and stomach, “you have several points that are open for attack.”

Jaeden then slowly stood back up, his hands coming to rest along his waist. “Of course, if their swinging at your legs, you obviously can’t duck under that.” Jaeden then said as he began stepping past Jilitse as he made his way towards his gear. “In that event, it’s best to just back up, and outdistance the attack.”

Jaeden then bent over, picking up his leather armor first as he began to strap it on. “Start by crouching down slowly,” Jaeden then suggested as he fiddled with the buckles at the side of the armor, “learn how your body’s weight shifts, how to balance while crouched down, basically how it feels. If you have to duck and are suddenly surprised when your weight begins to shift backwards, you’ll fall on your rear and that spells trouble in a battle.”

[Jilitse]

"Muscle memory?" She asked inwardly. Do Nuits have muscle memory? Jilitse wondered, smiling a little. "I do not even have enough muscle at all." She was getting thinner and thinner, her body degenerating with time. She listened at Jaeden's advice. "I think you are right, a counter-reaction of a human might maim a Nuit with slow reflexes."

Left on her own, she continued sweeping the sickle up and down. "A parry directs the force of attack elsewhere." She tried to follow the human's line of thought, trying to envision flowing water being interrupted by a sickle. By Jaeden's narration, the water's flowing force will push her sickle back. A brute force against her would not only push her weapon back, but put pressure on her as well. That would mean bearing the brunt of the attack, and collapsing under the weight. On the other hand, parrying would guide the force away, like sweeping it with a well-times arc of the sickle.

She stopped as Jaeden walked in front of her. She met his face and watched his lips as they explaining ducking. As soon as Jaeden requested Jil to perform an attack, she willingly obeyed, aiming for his chest. The Nuit, fortunately, did not have any conscience to worry about. If the human had the audacity to ask her to attack with the sickle, she expected him to have sufficient skill to properly evade it. As she gave a forceful swing to the left, she leaned to her side, quietly observing how Jaeden was able to quickly perform the move. Oh, what she would give to have the speed of a pulser?

Jilitse stared down at the crouching man, giving back a thin smile. "I understand. I have the option of parrying an attack upfront, blocking advances from the side, and jumping backwards to escape the weapon's reach or ducking below it."

"Ducking, if performed properly and combined with favorable opportunity, puts you in the advantage of attacking your enemy's lower body parts." The Nuit nodded. In theory, it all sounded easy. Application was another thing. She eyed Jaeden's armor. She considered buying an item that would protect her body. Maybe something lighter than leather? Was there even such a thing?

The Nuit shifted, shimmying down. Jil tried to crouch, feet apart and knees bending slowly. She was very wary, touching herself around the waist and torso, sure that ducking would have negative effects on her body. While there was not a lot of weight to manage, she was close to becoming a rotten egg. The Nuit felt a few bones creak. Jil warned herself to stop.

With great ease she stood up and declared, "I will try this ducking thing when I get a new body. Doing it right now would spell trouble for me." She rolled her eyes and gave a stare back at Jaeden. She felt compelled to explain, "Nuits are undead, but we need to switch bodies when the ones we use have... expired. It's like," she pursed her lips and frowned, "water needing a new container year or so."

Jilitse sheathed her sickle. "I'd love to continue, but I don't want to force my body." She winced, "I'll just, well, practice on my own when I get back to Syliras." Jil told Jaeden, "Let's go and hope we don't meet wild animals or anything as dangerous. I want to get done with this journey as soon as I can."

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden tilted his head slightly as he observed Jilitse ducking down, how slowly she went, the discomfort apparent on her face. Her visage may have been that of a young woman, but the decay combined with the movements, Jilitse almost seemed like one of the elderly. He gave a slow rub of his chin as he contemplated such while she rose to a stand once again. He gave a slow nod when she revealed necessities that Nuit had to live by before suggesting they set out. “Sounds like a difficult existence to lead in my opinion,” Jaeden said as he bent over, picking up his leather armor and began to strap it on. “But I suppose I can’t really speak from your perspective. I have not walked a mile in your shoes, figuratively speaking.”

Jaeden then looked to the tree line to the south before giving a tout whistle. It wouldn’t be long before a large Nightstalker horse came galloping into the camp, giving a slow gruff and lowering it’s head towards Jaeden as he stroked its brow. Jaeden then slowly looked towards the East, finishing the buckles along his leather armor. “You’re tagging along too Red, I know you want to come anyhow.” Jaeden then said before a small red fox came stepping out from behind the foliage, giving a passing glance towards Jilitse before standing on her hind legs and resting her paws along Jaeden’s legs.

Jaeden reached down giving her a quick scratch along the top of her head and back of her ears. He then turned slowly, reaching down to grab his belt of pouches, his longsword still attached to it. “Give me two shakes of a jackrabbit’s ass and we’ll be heading out.” Jaeden said as he reached down once more, grasping his Composite Longbow and quiver of arrows.

He looked down to Red as he began to attach the quiver to his belt, giving the fox a smile as he fiddled with the leather straps. “Red, would you be a dear and scout ahead for me?” Jaeden then said to the little fox before it gave a quick yelp and bolted in the direction of Priskil Lake. “And don’t go eating any toads this time. You don’t want to be hallucinating again.”

Jaeden then began walking towards Jilitse, his gear all attached as the Nightstalker stepped slowly forward, following him. Jaeden gave a nudge of his head towards the large black horse. “His name is Fortunado, should there be trouble that’s more than I’ll be able to handle,” Jaeden explained, slinging his bow over his shoulder, “we’ll be riding him to escape. So be prepared for me to lift you in the event of that happening.”

Jaeden then gave a nod, no matter what response Jilitse gave. “Let’s go then.” Jaeden simply said as he began stepping towards the direction of the lake.

[Jilitse]

The Nuit stood still, eyeing the animals that approached. First came a horse, and then a fox. She threw a look back at Jaeden, face somewhat alarmed. Jil has never really traveled with... animals. Frozen statue, the Nuit was, until Jaeden walked towards her. He was prepared, unlike Jilitse, he was a man of these Woods. The Nuit could only be thankful that he did not have any ire against the undead race. "You can talk to that fox?" Jilitse asked, though she was meaning to know if Jaeden was able to talk to animals in general. "You remind me of Marie Suzanne. She has marks of Sylir and has the ability to converse with animals." Not to say that the Marie Suzanne Jilitse talked about was a fictional character inside a sentient book.

Upon being told that Red was a Kelvic, Jilitse's eyes twinkled in wonder. "You have your own Kelvic?" For a moment it appeared as if she understood what Jaeden said, until she asked, "What is a Kelvic?" Her face was taut, somewhat serious. "May I ask how you met her? And... what is the bond like?" She stared ahead, where the red fox was scouting for them. "Do you, can you... communicate even if you're far away?"

The Nuit didn't look a lot like it, but she had some form of hesitance with the horse. Perhaps it was because that Sahova did not, in general, domesticate creatures. Or perhaps it was just that Sahova did not have horses, period. Ride, lift? Jilitse gasped, if it can be called that. Somehow the prospect of riding a horse was just as scary as fighting bandits and slavers. "I don't... I've never..." Funny how she mumbled. "Horse." Totally incoherent, but Jaeden would get the point.

Despite this, Jilitse willingly followed Jaeden. The fact that they had a fox up ahead as a scout and a horse as a means of escape did little to comfort her. She moved rather slowly, carefully. Something in her sluggishness suggested disdain for walking. Still, Jil held the sickle with two hands, blade curving away from her, as if to shoo away anyone who dared come near. She had reason to protect herself from things that her human would not, and could not, understand.

And into the woods they walked, heading towards Priskil's pond. Soon, Jilitse's pace changed, whether or not Jaeden had adjusted to her earlier turtle speed. She was sure of herself now, more confident with companions around. There were still hints of paranoia, she quickly turned her head if she heard something moving at a distance. Jil tried to note the trail they passed, remembering the shape of the trees and the branches. Although she seemed to have relaxed a little, the Nuit had a hunch that something wasn't right. She surrendered this feeling to Jaeden, "Are you sure we are safe?" It was the same intuition as earlier, the feeling of being watched.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden looked up at Jilitse as she asked about his ability to communicate, revealing her ability to communicate with animals overall. Jaeden slowly shook his head. “I’m unfortunately unfamiliar with Marie Suzanne. Though I’d have to say, being able to communicate with all animals would completely squash any motivation I would have for hunting.” Jaeden said as he began moving alongside Jilitse as they began to head towards the lake. “Red is a Kelvic. Though I don’t consider her a possession of any sort really. She’s a companion, one which travels with me. I first met her when she was enslaved by a traveling hunting caravan, who were using her and her kin as a means of sport and monetary gain. It was the first time we fought alongside one another, and after it was all over, she and I found ourselves bonding with one another. And don‘t worry about riding Fortunado, I‘ll be doing most of the riding myself, you‘ll mainly just have to hold on for the most part.”

Jaeden’s head raised slightly in contemplation of how to answer her other questions. “The Kelvic, from what I understand, is a race born from magic. Animals altered by a Mage named Marcus Kelvic, and the race officially named for the Mage. Rumor has it he created them as a means of companionship, because he was lonesome in his life.” Jaeden then gave a slow shrug of his shoulder, looking down to the ground for a moment. “Aside from that, I can’t tell you how he did it, or much else. Magic isn’t a strong area of knowledge for me in long run. Suffice to say, he passed on, and their race endured, constantly seeking out others to bond with now that he is gone. I was lucky enough to find Red.”

Jaeden then fell silent again, thinking about the other parts of her question. “It’s difficult to describe the bond. It’s on a different level of sorts. She can talk and communicate normally with me when she shifts into human form.” Jaeden tried to explain, his hand reaching over his head to scratch lightly at the white streak of hair along the back of his head. “When she’s in animal form, though, it’s more like I can feel what she is feeling, and her me. It’s like we know each completely enough that words aren’t really needed. We just, well, know.”

As if to demonstrate that face, Jaeden fell silent for a moment, looking forward in the direction they were traveling. “She picked up a scent of others who have been traveling towards the lake,” Jaeden said, lowering his hand back to his side, “but their faint. They passed by the area likely around four or five bells ago.”

Jaeden continued to move forward, not seeming outwardly concerned with the information he had received from Red, his steps keeping pace with whichever Jilitse’s own. His gaze slowly fell as he saw Jilitse gripping her sickle with both hands, the curve of the blade facing away from her. Jaeden slowly reached out, grasping her off hand lightly. “Your weapon is intended for one hand, it will throw of your swing if you use both hands.” Jaeden said, guiding her off hand off the grip. “Besides, especially with a one handed weapon, you should keep your other hand free for grappling an opponent. Pulling or pushing him off balance. For when you get your new body, of course.”

Jaeden continued to walk, dropping his gaze to the ground every now and then as he observed for any disturbances in the ground left by travelers. Other times, he gazed to his surroundings, giving a slow inhale of the air as if to smell anything that might have been out of place as a light wind blew, tickling their skin. Jaeden stopped then, his gaze dropped to the ground. “Here, these are the kind of signs you’ll want to look for if traveling the wilds.” Jaeden suddenly said as he dropped to a knee, his hand reaching out as he pulls away a few random leaves and twigs, fully exposing a deep imprint in the ground. “This is a simple track to spot, fully shaped like a boot of course. Other times, they won’t be so obvious, so you’ll want to look for other things.”

Jaeden then slowly pointed towards the rear of the print, pointing out the deeper part of the imprint of the track along the ground. “This individual, for instance, is wearing a boot with a small wide heel, giving him like another quarter inch of height.” Jaeden explained, pointing out the small strait ridge of the heel imprint. ”Not all boots will be heeled, so you’ll want to look for the curves, otherwise. The curve of the boot’s tip, the curve of the sides and the heals. Of course, these are just the basics. The more you study tracks in nature, the more you’ll be able to tell more about the person who left them. Like their weight, whether they were running or has a limp. You could even possibly figure out the height by the size of the boot.”

About close to a bell of walking had passed, as Jaeden keep his eyes to his surroundings, noting the apprehension that Jilitse held. However, Jaeden eventually came to a stop just as Jilitse was voicing her concern, his head lowering to the ground for a moment. It wasn’t a moment later before Red came running up beside Jaeden, her head lowering slightly as her tail was held strait out. “We will be,” Jaeden said faintly, his hand reaching up to pull his bow free from his shoulder. “Stay behind Fortunado, get an attack if you can on an unsuspecting opponent, and try not to face one directly. Three of them approach.”

[Jilitse]

The Nuit listened about the Kelvics. Something in the back of her head made her think of it somewhat similar to having familiars, and so she commented on that part. "In Sahova, where I am from, there are mages who summon creatures from another world, these creatures become their companions. Familiars, they call it." Jilitse looked somewhat surprised, as if she had revealed something personal to Jaeden. "Do you, in essence, share your life with Red? If she dies, so do you?"

Jilitse then retracted the foot dipped in complacency as Jaeden noted that his Kelvic, wherever it may be, had picked up the scent of others. Relying on Jaeden to be some sort of Wilderness Guide-slash-Bodyguard, Jilitse inched closer behind him. She jerked when he held her hand away from the sickle, but appreciated and nodded to his explanation. She let out an amused chuckle, or at least something close to it, "I can barely swing this sickle properly, I am not entirely sure about pulling or pushing somebody off balance, even with a new body."

She observed the man as he went about. He was observing his surroundings as Jilitse did, but he was more attuned and less panicky. She gave a start when Jaeden talked and dropped down. She stood by him and bent lower to see the mark he pointed at. "What kind of other things would that be?" The Nuit asked, wishing that they wouldn't encounter whatever/whoever wore the boot who made the print. Crouching lowly to get a better look at the bootprint, Jil eyed the heel. At the moment, seeing it did not give Jilitse any of the observations Jaeden mentioned, except that fact that there was somebody else out here in the woods, and whatever/whoever it was could be something/someone potentially dangerous. "You can tell a person's weight and height?" Jilitse, in her mind, conjured up the image of a big burly man. She didn't infer from the print properly, but then again she was drawing from her fear. "You must be very good at surviving the wilds, then." She commented, "For you to be able to tell a person's physical features or even describe his past movements, that is truly an remarkable skill." She hummed, "And you say you don't use magic?" She nodded, as if there was something enlightening about this.

As they went about, Jaeden would notice the Jilitse was no longer eyeing her surroundings with paranoia. Instead, she seemed to be focused on tracing outlines of footprints - his own, to be exact. The Nuit tried to connect her companion's own marks, wondering how exactly would she be able to tell how he looked and acted like just by his footprints. She also wondered about her own prints, walking disdainfully as ever, trying not to push down her weight on each step. Not that there was a lot of weight in her body anyway.

A good part of the walking was done together with examining Fortunado's prints, making Jilitse fall behind. The horse didn't seem to mind Jilitse circling around him. It did, however, threw Jilitse a rough neigh when she came really really close. Jilitse was trying to notice how the horse's hooves made its own marks, as it leaves a pattern unique for animals with four legs.

As the fox came back, Jilitse paused. The Nuit was alarmed as unspoken messages passed through the bond. Her question, finally answered: No, they were not safe. Safe, however, was a definition of its own. For one, Jilitse knew that Jaeden was more than capable of battling with anything or anybody. The Kelvic did not look non-threatening either. She stood closer to the big horse, hoping it would protect her somehow.

She tried to humor the situation: This was a practical examination. Slash and hack. She readied her right hand, the one holding a sickle, and tried to see how she could be of use in this battle.