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[Saraphina Skyglow]

Saraphina Skyglow 34th Day of Summer 514 AV T he wind blew through the leafy summer trees, filling the area with a sweet natural melody of calm and peace. Saraphina stepped off the dirt road from Zeltiva’s gates and moved through the long, overgrown grass, sighing in contentment and tilting her head back to soak in the morning sun. She had enjoyed the city, truly she had. But there was just something to be said about walked alone through the natural forest with nothing but your own heatbeat and the occasional chirping of the birds to hear. It was a relief to the Kelvic and a much needed break. Walking into the wilderness with only her backpack, loaded with nothing but her eating knife and black cloak, Saraphina kept moving toward the Mirahil Pass. Traders and the occasional hunter in the city had said that most of the pelts and red meat came from that area. And Saraphina was in need of a good hunt. Her tussle with two street thugs from a few days ago had sustained her for a bit, but her need to shift and stretch her animal form out was pressing on her mind. After walking into the forest for about half a chime, the red head looked around. The area was untouched by human hands. A few colored flowers grew by a fallen log covered in green moss. Long strands of grass that reached her hips bent and danced in the light breeze. Yes….this was a good spot. There would be plenty of small game running about, if she was lucky maybe a fat deer would wander by. Stripping down to her bare skin and stuffing her boots, clothes and prized pendent in the backpack, Saraphina stashed the bag inside the hollow fallen log. Rolling her shoulders happily, Saraphina took two jogging steps and leapt into the air. A moment later a massive orange and black tiger landed on four paws. L ifting a wide, triangle shaped nose into the wind, Saraphina sniffed the air. A hundred different scents she hadn’t been able to detect in her human form flooded her senses. Pollen from the grass seed, droppings from different animals that had pasted through the glade, patches of moist earth. Her ears, now pointed and topside, swiveled around to take in every sound about her. A mouse was scurrying through the grass about a dozen paces to her left, to her right she could hear the infant chirping of a nest of baby birds. None of those sounds was what she wanted to hear. She wanted a prey animal large enough to satisfy her appetite. Walking through the grass which now offered almost full concealment to the Tigress, Saraphina began her hunt. Small songbirds seemed to sense her presences and ceased their musical chirping, filling the air with an almost eerie silence. A shift and soft thump of feet several feet ahead made Saraphina freeze in place and pause in her breathing. A gust of wind brought the scent of her target to her nose…a rabbit. Licking her lips in anticipation, Saraphina crouched low to the ground. Creeping forward in a motion so slow it almost made creeping tar look fast, her sharp gold eyes picked out the brown hare. Long ears were pricked up in alertness and it stood on its hind feet, head turning this way and that to try and detect the large predator. G rass brushed by her shoulders and face without notice, all her attention was on the rabbit. Tensing her muscles in anticipation to pounce, claws slipping from her sheaths and lips pulling back from her long teeth, Saraphina exploded from the cover. Jaws opened wide, saliva glistening on her deadly canines……and snapped close on nothing but air. Bounding feet and flying dirt met her eyes and Saraphina gave chase without thought. The agile brown hare scrambled widely, long hind legs eating up the ground like a child with candy. She coiled her hind legs and lunged forward, trying once more to snap her teeth around the fleeing rabbit. No such luck graced the large feline as her intended target found its home and darted down a borrow and into the safety of its den. Growling in displeasure, Saraphina glared at the hole in the ground. She made a half-hearted attempt to stick a paw into the burrow, but knew full well she would not be able to fish out the rabbit. ‘Well done little one. You win this hunt…..I will give you this victory gracefully.’ S till a bit hungry, but willing to admit that she’d been out foxed in this hunt, Saraphina headed back towards the log she’d stashed her belonging into. No longer trying to be stealthy or seeking prey, she stuck her head inside the log and gripped the top of her bag in her mouth. Pulling out the backpack and carrying it with her, she started to walk back towards the road. The lack of a successful kill irked her a bit, but it was part of nature’s way. Not every hunt was a success, there was always a chance of going hungry. If every predator could take down every target they picked there would be not prey left in the world. As she walked, probably looking massively out of place as a large colorful cat holding a backpack, the crackle of a fire perked her ears. Pausing in her journey, she turned towards the sound. After a moment’s thought, Saraphina shifted her direction of travel to pass closer to the sounds of another presence in the otherwise peaceful and uncivilized forest. A few hundred feet of paced walking reveled another open glade, though this one was much smaller than the last one she’d been in. A large tent was set up close to the forests edge and a small fire crackled in a pit surrounded by rocks. A very pretty pale colored horse was tethered nearby and was quite agitated by her presence as she hadn’t bothered to sneak up on the site. Most interesting she found was the young, sandy haired man that ducked and weaved in the open space that was left in the glade. He held a wide double edged sword and was performing some interesting maneuvers, as though he was practicing fighting invisible enemies. The strikes and parry’s of the weapon intrigued Saraphina. Though she was skilled in defensive fighting and unarmed combat, the brawl in the streets from a few days ago did show that she could use some extra training. Sitting her rump on the ground and straightening her front legs, Saraphina kept a grip on her backpack and waited for the swordsman to notice her.

[Yuri Lehrer]

Yuri woke up a little bleary eyed from the deep sleep he had been having until but a moment ago when his internal body clock decided it had been time for him to awaken. He was a little less than pleased when he had to rub the sleep from his eyes, a slight pain throbbing within his head. Yuri sat up, muscles feeling stiff and sore, and looked around where he had been sleeping, trying to figure out what had caused him so much discomfort, all the while stretching his muscles to loosen them up and prepare for his morning exercise routine. Standing now, Yuri saw what had been causing him discomfort, he had been sleeping against a rock and the stump of a nearby tree thinking to himself That explains a few things, but it doesn't make my muscles feel less sore.

Yuri moved away from the area he had been sleeping in, still getting the remaining stiffness out of his muscles, mainly by shrugging his shoulders, and moved towards his tent, which held his day clothes and weapon, for a couple of moments, Yuri stood still for a moment, taking in the natural beauty of the small glade in which he lived, believing that it never lost it's appeal, even after all the time he had spent there, before continuing on to his tent, ducking in and emerging a few minutes later dressed and with his sword in it's scabbard, resting on his right side, the plain black cape he wore was sitting well, a few centimeters longer and it would have touched the ground. Yuri didn't mind wearing the cape, even though it was summer, it was a present he had bought himself on his birthday, slightly more than a season ago.

Yuri patrolled around his campsite, trying to find an ideal location to relieve himself, once that particular aspect of his morning routine was taken care of, he began his pre-breakfast training routine, a small run around his campsite, a few push-ups, and even a couple of inverted push-ups, the all too familiar strain of holding his entire body weight up by his two arms getting too much after a couple of them, so on his final inverted push-up, Yuri pressed up with more force than he knew necessary to flip back onto his feet so that he would be able to walk over to his fire site to cook himself some breakfast, but he forgot about his cape, and upon landing his foot caught on his cape, causing him so slip over and try to turn mid fall to catch himself, in this he was more successful. Getting up from his push-up like stance, Yuri walked over to his fire site and got some meat from one of his saddle-packs, which were hanging over a low branch, to save his horse, Theophanes from having to bare their burden all night, and made sure that it hadn't spoiled in the intervening day since he had purchased it, satisfied that the meat was still edible, Yuri began the task of collecting some firewood, on which he would cook the meat.

After he had collected the wood for his fire, cooked his meat and eaten his food, Yuri decided that he would begin one of his Kata, sword exercises designed to improve a person's reactions by fighting imagined opponents using precise combinations of attacks, but as he thought about using his Kata, he began talking to himself, or rather to Theophanes as he had come to do whenever he was alone. "So Theophanes, which kata should I use today? Kata number one?" As he asked he looked to Theophanes as though he was expecting a reaction, and to his surprise he got one, Theophanes shook his mane as though he was saying I don't think so Yuri, taken slightly aback at the actual reaction of his horse to his question, asked if he should use his second Kata, again he got the same reaction, when Yuri asked about his third Kata, Theophanes seemingly nodded his head saying You should do this one, obviously. Yuri, still in a slight state of shock at this time, said to himself "I think I've been alone for a bit long, but it's nice to have someone to talk to."

After his conversation with his horse, Yuri drew his broadsword and walked to the middle of his campsite, removing his cape as he did so, to avoid tripping over it again, and adopted his ready stance, broadsword held in his left hand, the tip of the blade pointing down slightly. Then, as if on an invisible cue, Yuri began his exercise, swinging his blade to the right, and simultaneously sidestepping to the left, to increase the power of the swing, it also allowed him to sidestep an attack which might have come on the side he swung at while also allowing him to bring the blade up, ready for his next move in the sequence, a lunge. Bending his legs slightly to give himself extra springiness for the lunge, Yuri turned to an imagined enemy who was approaching on his left hand side, and lunged towards them... Yuri chose at the last moment to bring the blade back towards his body, by the time he made contact with his foe, Yuri was holding his weapon approximately two-thirds of the way down the blade, and used it to shunt his opponent to the side, and dropped to his knees, bringing his weapon up, over and behind his head, to block the imagined overhand cut aimed at his head and upper back. After blocking the possibly fatal imagined overhand strike, Yuri rolled to the side, coming up to ready himself for the next set of movements in his kata...

When he noticed something rather odd, a huge catlike creature, with black and orange stripes down it's side, sitting on it's haunches, holding a pack in it's mouth, seemingly watching him, Yuri was surprised that he hadn't noticed this creature before, and tried unsuccessfully to mask the look of shock on his face, he also brought his sword up to a resting position, like he had seen Ricky Martin do when they met in the area, some time ago, with the flat of the blade resting against his shoulder. Deciding that he should probably try talking to the creature, Yuri began speaking in a friendly tone "Hello there, and what might you be doing up here in the mountains?" Waiting to see if his word got any sort of reply from the giant cat, Yuri put his sword in it's scabbard, and stood, slightly uneasily at the prospect of a giant cat, and probably predator walking about his campsite.

[Saraphina Skyglow]

Saraphina Skyglow I t didn’t take as long as she was expecting for the swordsman to notice her. That was a bit surprising but given that he was out in the wilderness, Saraphina came to the conclusion that this man must be more skilled than she first thought. The intricate swordplay was proof to that fact. Still, the look of shock when he finally saw her was rather amusing. Saraphina felt the coners of her muzzle twitch in an almost feline grin. That was made impossible by the bag clamped between her teeth, but the expression lingered in her mind and entertained her. When Yuri turned and saw her, resting the wide blade on his sword on his shoulder, the Kelvic shifted a bit, unsure if the gesture was a threat or not. Once the blade was sheathed, Saraphina felt herself relax a bit more. She was still very caution and didn’t really want to shift out of her animal form, but to properly communicate it might be necessary. But not just yet. S he responded to Yuri’s question by setting her bag on the ground. Shaking her head, the long fur around her muzzle ruffling and settling with the movement, she stood up. Not wanting to cause a fight, Saraphina bent her right front leg back and lowered the front of her body in a feline mimic of a show horse’s bow. Hopefully the action would be enough to convince the young man that she was an intelligent animal. Standing back up, she mused silently about how best to approach this situation. She wanted to speak to the young man, perhaps share a meal or a story….but she still wanted to exercise a great deal of caution. The best way she could think of to approach was to stay as she was and hope her actions didn’t provoke Yuri. D ecision made, Saraphina moved slowly into the campsite. Keeping her wary golden eyes on fixed solely on Yuri, she approached the young man. She moved slowly, all body language signs indicating a non threatening air keeping her head and belly low to the ground. At the slightest sign of trouble from Yuri, Saraphina would back away, but if allowed to move close, the large tigress would gently nudge the pommel of Yuri’s broadsword with her nose before moving back and tilting her head in a highly inquisitive manner.

[Yuri Lehrer]

When the giant catlike creature made no move to attack him, Yuri stood a little easier wondering to himself what such a creature was doing up in the mountainous pass, then reasoned to himself that it would only be natural for predators this size to be around in the general area, but not quite so close... While he was musing to himself, Yuri had failed to notice that the creature had set the pack it had been carrying, down on the ground, and shook its head. What he did notice, however, was that it had stood up, and was bowing, to this Yuri's eyes opened slightly in amazement as he considered what this could mean Could this mean that this creature, whatever it is, is domesticated, or is highly intelligent, I'll trust my gut on this and go with the latter, it appears to be highly capable, but it is almost certainly a predator, so I should still be wary.

While he had been musing on what the cat creatures bow had meant, Yuri had failed to notice that it had stood back up, but he did notice that it had begun to walk towards him, or rather shuffle, as it appeared to be crawling, its eyes, golden discs which reflected the light, trained on him. Yuri thought to himself once more This is certainly an interesting creature, but is it feigning friendliness in order to get close enough to attack me? There is only one way to find out... This thought dictated Yuri's next action, he closed his eyes and held his hand out, palm down, in the hope that the creature wouldn't pounce on him and tear him to shreds.

While he was standing there, eyes closed, arm outstretched, Yuri felt a moment of fear as he realised the situation was out of his hands, and in that of Dira or even Lhex, a god he had heard of, but didn't really know anything about, save that he controlled fate. As he felt something akin to a rock forming in his stomach, Yuri found the time to see the humorous side of his predicament Well, if this is the work of the gods, then maybe I'll have a rather fun time in the afterlife, after all, it has been an honour serving you in life Dira, I wonder how I'll do in death? As this thought crossed his mind, Yuri resigned himself to his fate, letting his shoulder's drop as he waited to find out what fate awaited him.

[Saraphina Skyglow]

Saraphina Skyglow I f Saraphina had been capable of laughing in her animal form, she would have been rolling on the ground. Yuri's response to her approach was everything opposite of what she would have done if their roles had been reversed. Closing his eyes and extending out his hand....Yuri was SO lucky Saraphina wasn't a malicious person. Pausing in front of the swordsman, Saraphina chuckled silently and bunted her wide head under Yuri's palm. The fur on the top of her head ruffled under the males fingers, surprising soft but with prickly frost tips designed for the cold winters of Avanthal. After running her forehead over Yuri's palm a few times and giving a deep rumbling that would sound like a gentle growl, Saraphina backed away. Her hesitation in remaining in her animal form was gone now. If Yuri was willing to put aside all defensive tactics and let a predator of her size approach him without attacking, she would show the same curtsey. T rotting around the small campfire so the flames separated the two, Saraphina focused on her human form. A shimmer of light and a slight push of her front limbs was all that was needed. She stood up on two legs, red hair fluttering in the wind and bare as the day she was born. Turning to look at Yuri, Saraphina gave the man a extremely mischievous smile, "You are far too trusting. I could have easily have ripped out your throat....fortunately for you, I tend to be gentler than most predators. I didn't trust you at first...its an instinct I cling to and have saved me many time. I am Saraphina Skyglow of Avanthal. Your....movements before....with that blade.....it interested me. What were you doing?" S arapina was no fool. Having just met this man and seeing that he was quite proficient with his weapon made her wary. She felt no shame at standing bare in front of Yuri and it would make it very easy to shift to her animal form again if needed. She kept her arms low and a somewhat wicked smile on her lips. She was quite enjoying herself....it was perhaps dangerous given the situation....but Saraphina was relishing in the sensation of excitement and thrill of everything. It was both entertaining that she'd startled the man and the tingling of her skin from the possible danger was making this whole experience so worthwhile.

[Yuri Lehrer]

Yuri, wondering if today was the day he was to die, was slightly surprised when he felt something soft, yet prickly underneath his fingertips, opening his eyes, he noticed that the creature had butted its head against his hand, gently as though saying, You don’t seem so bad, this intrigued Yuri, and as such he tilted his head when the creature began to roll its head underneath his hand. While the creature had been rubbing its head under his hand, Yuri noticed the soft growl which emanated from it, almost like the purr of a normal cat. Yuri had just begun to think about the similarities between the gentle growl and a purr, when the giant cat broke contact and backed away a little, all the while looking at him with those golden eyes.

The creature, giant cat, then broke eye contact with Yuri begin trotting around his camp site, making him slightly more wary of it, outwardly he appeared relaxed, but when it stopped on the opposite of his campfire, Yuri relaxed his guard, wondering what this interesting creature would do next, what happened however, took him completely by surprise. The big cat began to shift in form, losing its fur in place of skin, the skull becoming smaller, with flowing red hair, the limbs becoming human in appearance, until standing before him was an attractive, if naked, female. Yuri took a step back at this unexpected turn of events, not even registering that she was naked, until she gave him a rather mischievous smile.

The moment he realised she was naked, Yuri blushed, before his honourable personality reasserted itself and he moved to where he had placed his cape, listening to her as she spoke "You are far too trusting. I could have easily have ripped out your throat....fortunately for you, I tend to be gentler than most predators. I didn't trust you at first...it’s an instinct I cling to and have saved me many time. I am Saraphina Skyglow of Avanthal. Your....movements before....with that blade.....it interested me. What were you doing?" As she introduced herself, Yuri had reached his cape, and was in the process of picking it up when she asked about what he had been doing with his sword.

As he stood with his cape, Yuri cautiously made his way towards the female, Saraphina, Yuri reminded himself, and began replying to her introduction and question, while adding a question of his own to the mix, in a partly embarrassed, but mostly friendly tone. “Nice to meet you Saraphina, I’m all too aware what could have transpired, but if it is my time to die, then so be it. My name is Yuri Lehrer and what I was performing with my Broadsword was called a Kata, which is a fancy term for exercise or practice… also, I have met several Kelvic, but I have never seen one shift between forms before, what is your animal form, by the way?” By the time he had finished his own question, Yuri was standing near enough to offer Saraphina his cape to cover herself, and did so by holding the cape where his shoulder’s would normally sit while he wore it, high enough so that it obscured his vision of anything lower than her neck, whilst still being low enough for them to continue conversing.

[Saraphina Skyglow]

Saraphina Skyglow S araphina tossed her head in an arrogant fashion after she was finished her shift which made her mane of fiery hair flare around her skull even more. The burning blush that covered Yuri's face at her naked form made her smirk even wider, though she manage to refrain from laughing. Modesty was something she lacked entirely, like most of her race. Bare skinned was the only way to shift, so nudity was easily dismissed. But humans that she encountered still found it uncomfortable, something Saraphina had never, and probably would never understand. The brown haired man moved as she spoke, picking up a long cloak from behind him. Saraphina watched Yuri carefully as he moved around the fire with the cloak held out in front of him like a shield. His gaze was focused solely on her face and he stopped when he was just over an arms length away, replying to her comment in a friendly tone, though his face was still lit up like the sun. Shaking her head in heavy amusement, but deciding to take some pity on the obviously highly embarrassed man, Saraphina took the cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders. The long cloth fell closed over her front, concealing her nakedness. Y uri's casual dismissal of what could have been his death made her tilt her head in curiosity. Most people feared death's cold embrace and fought to keep it at bay every step of the way. Even Saraphina was wary of her eventual dismissal, though she tended to get into so much trouble that her caution was much less than some. The news that Yuri had met other Kelvic didn't really surprise her....but the fact that he hadn't realized she was one till she shifted was odd. Did he think most wild animals would willing wander into a campsite and not immediately attack? Decided not to question it, she replied lightly as she walked back towards her pack, "My other form is called a Northern Tiger in Avanthal. They are mostly winter creatures, so its not surprising you've never seen one. I was out hunting when I heard your fire and thought I'd investigate. You said you were practicing with your sword. Does that mean you are a guard or solider. Sometimes I'd see the Icewatch practicing with their spears, your movements looked similar." P icking up her pack, Saraphina considered putting her clothes on and then dismissed it almost instantly. She knew nothing about Yuri other than he knew how to use a weapon. But he'd been friendly so far, so she supposed she could return the favor for now. Digging through her pack, she pulled out the trail rations she had yet to eat. The World Grotto had been supplying her meals for the past several days so she still had the food Augustine had given her for the trip. Turning back towards Yuri, she waved the packet in her hand at him, "Are you hungry? My hunt ending with my intended meal darting down a hole so my stomach's grumbling a bit. I have enough for us both." The cloak she was wearing shifted as she moved, showing flashes of her front. Saraphina was oblivious to this, but it was likely that Yuri was getting quite the show. Secret : Northern Tiger is a Mizahar version of the Siberian Tiger.

[Yuri Lehrer]

Yuri felt his blush grow slightly in intensity when Saraphina shook her head, before donning his cape and tilting her head in what Yuri guessed to be curiosity, much like he had done moments before when she was in animal form, butting her head against his hand. When Saraphina performed the action though, to Yuri it seemed… more predatory, he assumed that it had something to do with a piece of information he had happened to learn some time ago, that Kelvic reflected their animal self while in human form, for the most part Yuri was nonplussed by this, but when said Kelvic had the form of a large predator, it made him somewhat wary. Whilst he considered this, Saraphina began to walk back to the pack she had dropped while in animal form, before she shifted, replying to Yuri’s question lightly as she went "My other form is called a Northern Tiger in Avanthal. They are mostly winter creatures, so it’s not surprising you've never seen one. I was out hunting when I heard your fire and thought I'd investigate. You said you were practicing with your sword. Does that mean you are a guard or solider. Sometimes I'd see the Icewatch practicing with their spears, your movements looked similar."

Yuri thought about her answer for a few moments A Northern Tiger… they must be very… he struggled to remember the word for a couple of seconds, then lost concentration on his thoughts when a movement caught his eye, Saraphina had made her way over to her pack and was in the process of picking it up, when Yuri remembered the word he had struggled to remember Majestic, that’s it, Northern Tigers must be a very Majestic species. In the time it took him to give life to this thought, Saraphina had rummaged through her pack, produced what appeared to be trail rations and turned back to face Yuri and was shaking the packet in his face asking "Are you hungry? My hunt ending with my intended meal darting down a hole so my stomach's grumbling a bit. I have enough for us both."

Yuri considered her offer for a moment, trying not to pay any heed to the fact that his cape shifted when Saraphina moved, exposing her front while she did so, when his stomach rumbled, reminding of the fact that he had yet to eat this morning and replied in a friendly tone “I am a bit hungry, and I appreciate the offer, but would you like to share some of my food? I have more than enough and… well company doesn’t really find its way up here often.” As he said this, Yuri had made his way over to his saddle pack, opened it, and pulled out a couple of pieces of meat he had purchased the other day, as well as some assorted herbs he occasionally used to flavour it, and some vegetables to balance the meal out, then remembered her previous statement about him being a guard, allowed himself a smile, and decided to reply “Also, to answer your previous question, I am not a guard, but a mercenary, though I would imagine that I am an honourable mercenary, not one which takes money for any job…” Trailing off of his explanation of what he did to await a reply to his own offer of food.

[Saraphina Skyglow]

Saraphina Skyglow Y uri's offer of sharing his food was surprising to her. It would seem as of late that she was stumbling on more and more kind hearted souls. It was something she needed. Still tender and wary from her imprisonment at Nicholi's hand, the taste of freedom and meeting so many friendly people was really helping her to come out of her shell. The meat and herbs that Yuri pulled out of the pack made her nose twitch as the fresh scent reached her sensitive olfactory sense. It did look much better than the dried rations in her pack. Saraphina turned her face back towards the swordsman and nodded a bit to enthusiastically at his offer. Pushing the preserved food back into her bag, she closed up her pack and walked back into the campsite. S he took care as she walked back to keep her distance from the tethered horse. Herbivores tended to dislike her scent regardless of what form she was in. She supposed they saw her as a predator in any shape. Kneeling down by the fire, Saraphina picked up a few of the smaller pieces of wood that had been left beside it and tossed them onto the dying flames, "Thank you Yuri, I would enjoy spending some time with you. Most people don't find the Wildlands comforting like I do, so its a bit surprising to find a human out here. A friend of mine taught me how to make a rather tasty stew when I first arrive here. I doubt I could make it as good as Miles did....but if you have a pot and some water I could try." W hen Yuri responded to her question of whether he was a guard, she tilted her head in curiosity. He got paid for doing....what did he do exactly? He certainly didn't look or act like any hunter she knew. And she couldn't think of any other reason why he'd be camping outside the walls if not to set traps for game. "What is a mercenary? And how can you be an honorable one? Is that even possible?" Saraphina had absolutely no idea what a mercenary was so her confusion was quite obvious to see.

[Yuri Lehrer]

Yuri waited patiently while Saraphina replaced her trail rations in her pack, then turned to face him, and nod emphatically at his offer of food, he allowed himself a smile and felt his blush almost fully dissipate as he now had something to do, which also distracted him of the fact that under his cape Saraphina was naked, and apparently not shamed by the fact. As he set about gathering some extra wood for the fire and sticks to spit the meat on, Yuri looked over at Saraphina as she walked back towards his fire, she seemed to try to avoid Theophanes, and the feeling was mutual, his horse did not want to be around the Tiger Kelvic, but he remained where he was, mainly because of the tethering Yuri had used, Yuri returned his gaze to the task he had set himself.

Yuri had finished collecting the wood he reasoned would be needed for the meal when looked over to Saraphina once more, she was now kneeling by the fire, tossing some of the smaller pieces of wood Yuri had left there when he had made the fire, to give new life to the dying fire before speaking once more "Thank you Yuri, I would enjoy spending some time with you. Most people don't find the Wildlands comforting like I do, so it’s a bit surprising to find a human out here. A friend of mine taught me how to make a rather tasty stew when I first arrived here. I doubt I could make it as good as Miles did....but if you have a pot and some water I could try."

Yuri could understand the surprise she must have felt when she had come across Yuri’s little camp site. Procuring water for the stew wouldn’t be a problem; Yuri was sure, but the pot on the other hand... Note to self: buy a pot to cook stuff in Yuri’s blush flared up slightly when he realised he didn’t have a rather basic cooking utensil, he replied apologetically “I understand your surprise, and I’m afraid that I don’t have a pot for you to cook your stew in, I’m sorry...” His embarrassment plain to see and hear at failing to be a somewhat gracious host, as far as his guests request for a cooking utensil was concerned.

When Yuri made his way over to the camp fire, he put a couple of the larger pieces of wood on it to intensify the flames so he would be able to cook the meat without fear of getting food poisoning, and set the rest of the wood he would use to keep the fire alive to the side, keeping the sticks he would use to spit the meat in his right hand. With his left hand, Yuri speared the pieces of meat on each of the spit sticks, making sure to give the larger one to Saraphina, as she was probably a carnivore. He also put a couple of vegetables on each of the sticks, and some herbs on the meat to flavour it, when he was done, Yuri put the sticks in-between a couple of rocks to hold them steady while they cooked and knelt by the fire, near enough to both the food so it could be tended to, and close enough to Saraphina to talk without having to raise his voice.

After he had set the food so that it was cooking, Saraphina asked a question which Yuri had simply not expected "What is a mercenary? And how can you be an honourable one? Is that even possible?" Yuri looked briefly at Saraphina with a look of surprise on his face, he had expected her to know what a mercenary was, mainly because they were all over Mizahar, but it seemed he would have to explain, and he did so, with a warm and friendly tone in his voice “Well Saraphina, it’s reasonably simple, a mercenary is like... a soldier or guard for hire, most take money to perform any job they are asked, especially when the price is high enough. I believe differently to most other mercenaries in so much as, I don’t accept any job which entails me having to kill another living being, partly because of my devotion to Dira, but also due to my own sense of morality and honour, so as for it being possible, I suppose that it is a personal choice as to how honourable an individual is.” Yuri paused to let the Kelvic process this information and come up with any other questions she may yet have, he also turned the spit sticks so that the food was now cooking on the side which was yet to feel the flames embrace.