Closed Bunny Blitz (Asen)

[Sayana]

Spring 38, 515 AV – Sacred Arch Hotsprings Sayana’s interest in herbs and medicine had grown as the season progressed. Not only was she interested in herbs to help various wounds heal, but now with a child on the way she was learning as much as she could to keep her baby safe as well as herself. She had taken many trips to Stormhold Salves to chatter away with Mistress Sahfri, usually with the intent on buying something but yesterday she had asked about other common herbs that might be found in and around Syliras. “Connal and Aletrid…” Sayana muttered softly to herself as she recalled Sahfri’s description of them. “Connel, velvety leaves that cluster together and has a skinny stem where a yellow and red flower grows. Aletrid, vines that grow on walls and stones with a nice smell and sometimes golden flowers.” The Eypharian decided she’d try her hand at looking for herbs at the Hotsprings, however, her last visit had been unpleasantly interrupted by a Zith. Maybe the knights of Syliras might be good for something after all. Sayana left her apartment to seek out a knight and after finally getting their attention she asked, “Excuse me, I’m looking to gather herbs at the Hotsprings would there be any squire or knight available to keep me safe?” She didn’t like suggesting that she was vulnerable but the Zith hadn’t given her the best impression of the springs. “Are you an herbalist?” The knight questioned. “No…” “Then we don’t have the people to spare,” he replied briskly. “But, but last time I went there I came across a Zith. I don’t think it’s that safe.” Sayana pressed. The knight raised an eyebrow and considered the matter. “I’ll see what I can do about sending a squire to patrol there this afternoon. But no personal escorts. You’ll have to get there yourself.” It wasn’t exactly what Sayana had hoped for, but it would do and she gave an appreciative nod to the knight. Sayana went home and waited a couple of bells before preparing to set out. She wore her usual red skirt as well as her top and a set of red sleeves to keep her warm. It wasn’t cold enough for a coat but she still wore her high boots since she was going to be trekking around outside. Her set of daggers were snugly in her belt and she also loaded up her backpack with a couple of empty jars, some bread, some cheese and some raisins. The last time she went to the hotsprings she left via the main gate and it took forever. Now she knew it was only a mere fifteen chimes if she left through one of the small exits on the northeast side of the city. The Eypharian wound her way through the corridors of the Maiden District, out onto the streets, past the Syliran Theatre, to Kova’s Well and then to the Stone Gardens where she could leave the city. She was starting to get better at finding her way around Syliras and only had to ask for directions twice. Once out of the city, it was beautiful. Many of the trees were starting to get leaves, some even had little flowers growing on them. The plants and shrubs were growing plentiful. Animals of all sorts darted about including squirrels and birds. Sayana shook her head briefly. It still amazed her how much life there was here. She followed a trail that looked fairly well used and figured that it would likely lead her to the springs. It was meandered a little but when she heard the gurgle of water she realized she was correct in her assumptions. When she arrived upon the Sacred Arch Hotsprings it was beautiful, but her eyes immediately went to the various stonework surrounding it. Wasn’t it the Aletrid vines that grew on walls? Sayana immediately began looking for a way to climb up to the naturally formed bridge. The path on one side was rather rocky, but after some carefully placed steps she made it to the bridge. It seemed covered in dark green vines. She wasn’t entirely sure if it was Aletrid or not, but she took out one of her small daggers to cut a few pieces off and put them in her bag.

[Asen]

Asen buckled on her armor sluggishly, still waking up. She'd rolled out of bed that morning and landed on her face, lying down for a good ten chimes before her roommate prodded her in the back. Of course, it wasn't incredibly early then, but she hadn't quite yet adjusted to the sleeping times of the squires. She had the luxury of sleeping in back home in Riverfall, where her parents supported her.

Now, however, she fumbled with the gauntlets, almost dropping them twice in a row. Finally the last piece of armor was on, the sword was strapped to her hip, and she set off. She was supposed to patrol the Sacred Arch Hotsprings, or something along those lines. The knight that had given her the order wasn't particularly friendly, nor was the squire paying much attention. She was too tired to care about the details.

One might expect a brisk pace from the half-Dhani the moment she exited the city, what with all her energy and cocky attitude, and yet her feet dragged and she was slumped over. She was totally drained and decided that she wanted to lie down and sleep for a few hundred years. Being a Nuit would've been a better option. She blamed it all on her snoring roommates. They were absolutely ridiculous.

That wasn't to say it wasn't beautiful outside, of course. The fresh air certainly reduced the exhaustion that plagued the poor girl, and soon she was stretching her long legs. It was only a fifteen-chime walk to the springs, nothing too taxing. She also kept her hand on the hilt of her sword. Though it was a short walk, anything could happen between the city and the springs.

With the springs in sight she began looking for the person she was to protect. What had the knight said, again? A woman? She vaguely remembered something about arms. Missing an arm? Multiple arms? Something distinct. She'd figure it out once she saw the person.

The squire narrowed her eyes as she scanned the surrounding area, tapping her fingers impatiently against the hilt of her sword. She pursed her lips, squinting further...

And there she was! With... six arms. She counted again, just to be sure. Yes, six arms. Two more than Aventis. Could Eypharians have that many? Was it actually possible? Apparently so. She was standing on top of the land bridge that gave the hotsprings its name.

The woman appeared to be cutting some of the vines off of the rock. "Excuse me, ma'am!" she called, "Were you the one who requested a squire or somethin' to patrol?"

Always better to be safe than sorry. She'd rather know if she was early than just stand there awkwardly. The half-Dhani removed her helm and held it under an arm, allowing her curls to spring forth wildly. "'Cause they told me to come help someone out. Like, protectin' someone. That's you, en't it?"

[Sayana]

Aletrid… what did it do again? Make things smell nice? Sayana took out one of the vines she had cut off and raised it to her nose. It did have a rather nice smell. Maybe she had actually managed to find this Aletrid. As she put it back in her bag she wondered how she was going to remember all new herbs she was learning about. Some people would probably write it down, but she was loath to do that since she hated the painstaking task of writing and the equally painstaking task of reading it back. “When something’s gone rancid, go find some Aletrid.” Sayana spoke softly as she attempted to make the words rhyme. She looked down at her bag. The herb grew in vines… “It’s not hard to find, on a wall grows the vine.” A call from below interrupted her thoughts and she looked down to see a woman all armoured up. A female squire? Even though Sayana had seen both men and women as knights and squires, it was more often the men who visited the tavern and enjoyed her dances. It also didn’t help that back in Ahnatep, the Jackal guards were predominantly male. “Yes, I was the one who asked for some help,” Sayana called back. “Give me a tick and I’ll be right down.” The Eypharian vanished from view as she made her way down the path she had come up. It was easier going down and there were just a few large rocks that she had to carefully jump off of to make her way to the squire. “Last time I was here I ran into some issues with a zith,” Sayana explained. She chose not to mention the exact nature of the incident nor what the zith was actually like. It was still a zith which proved that even here there could be danger. “I thought I’d at least try to get some help from the Order this time. Though I didn’t expect a woman. I’m just collecting some herbs… for my collection.” Her reason for being there lacked a bit of eloquence but her eyes had already left the squire as she searched the banks of the hotsprings for white flowers. There, in the bushes to the left was a speck or two of white. The Eypharian began to head over to see what it might be.

[Asen]

Asen blinked in surprise. She'd expected the woman to be freakish in appearance in accordance to her multiple arms. Instead she was... quite beautiful, really. From her figure to her clothing to her skin, the Eypharian was strikingly pretty. As she began to make her way down she disappeared from view, the squire frowned slightly.

The woman reappeared a few paces before the half-Dhani, explaining that she'd had trouble with a Zith. Asen shuddered, remembering some of the stories told in Riverfall of the vicious beasts. "Zith can be nasty, yeah," she agreed. However, when the part about her gender came up she pursed her lips.

"I'm as tough as any o' my male counterparts, miss. I en't any less skilled just 'cause I'm a girl. If a Zith comes along I'll bring it down. No commoners are gettin' 'urt today, not on my watch," she promised the Eypharian. The blonde looked on as her charge searched for herbs. Her fingers tapped subconsciously against the hilt of her sword, peering about the hotsprings in case something had decided to sneak up on them.

Finding nothing, she turned back to the woman. "D'you want help or anythin'? I don't wanna just have you do all the work, an' I en't gonna be o' much use unless somethin' attacks us. Seein' as how this place is usually pretty well patrolled there shouldn't be much danger. I'll still keep my sword on me though, if you want," she offered. She didn't fancy pulling plants out of the ground, but it was better than just standing around.

Asen laid her helm down and followed the Eypharian regardless of her answer, keeping one hand on her weapon as she stepped over small obstacles. "I'm Sessaschenaasen, by the way. In case you ever need to call me over. 'Course it's probably a bit of a mouthful if you're tryin' to yell for me, so just Asen'll do."

[Sayana]

Sayana gave a grin back at the squire as she argued that she was no less strong than her male counter-parts. Although it was the second statement that the squire made that reassured her more. It was clear that the squire believed that a zith was a zith and there were no hazy grey areas when it came to that. “Us women are often more deadly than our male counterparts,” Sayana added and her low left hand drifted towards the set of daggers at her hip. The Eypharian slowly pushed onwards into the brush and snapped twigs as she made for the patch of white. She was momentarily distracted by the squire’s offer to help but as she took another step, a white rabbit darted out from behind the bushes. Sayana let out a sigh. “I’m trying to find white flowers in little clusters. It’s called vyfox. And it has tall skinny leaves and a tall stem with the clump of flowers.” Sayana squinted around trying to peer through the dense undergrowth but had no such luck. When the squire introduced herself, Sayana turned her attention towards her and smiled at the name so much like how a Dhani would be named. “Sessasschenassen,” Sayana repeated slowly and for the most part accurately. “That’s a pretty name. I’m Sayana.” The Eypharian couldn’t help but gaze over the woman trying to figure out where she might have come from. She looked too pale to have enjoyed Syna’s rays in Eyktol and Sayana didn’t know of many northern breeds of Dhani. The Eypharian caught sight of another patch of white and quickly skipped over to it trampling plants as she went. But to her dismay, another bunny darted out from the undergrowth. “You don’t think they’ve eaten all the herbs that grow around here, do you? I was told once that this was a great place to go because of how warm the springs get. There are even plants that grow here in the cold of winter with snow all around.” Then an idea came to her. If there were already two bunnies in the area, maybe there were even more. With a sly grin she looked over to Sessaschen. “Think you can spot more rabbits than me? But if you manage to find a white flower before I do then you win, no matter how many rabbits I found.”

[Asen]

Well, this Eypharian was certainly likeable. "That we are," she agreed. Of course, cunning was far deadlier when applied correctly. A well-placed word here, a soft touch there, a knife to the throat and you've snagged them in an iron net. Asen wasn't very experienced in that area, however. She was more learned in the ways of brute force.

The half-Dhani's mouth began watering when a rabbit sped away from the multi-armed woman. On the occasion her father had brought home some of the creature's meat her mother would cook it, and it was quite delicious when paired with various herbs.

"Pleased to meet you, Sayana," she said. The woman had more or less pronounced her name correctly, and the small mistakes could be overlooked. "I sure hope they haven't eaten all o' the plants. That'd be unfortunate, wouldn't it? 'Sides, if they 'ad eaten all of 'em then the bunnies would be all fat. We could hunt 'em an' sell 'em if we can't find the plants," she suggested.

At the mention of a competition to see who could find more rabbits, a smile that mirrored Sayana's slid across the blonde's face. "Challenge accepted. How many bunnies d'you think there are around 'ere?" she asked, already searching the undergrowth for patches of white and shifting splotches of brown.

Asen, finding one, crept across the ground as stealthily as she could -- which wasn't very. The rabbit gave a small hop away from her and she darted after it, though the animal's powerful legs outdid her own lanky limbs. She wasn't a runner, no matter how much she looked the part.

She made her way back to Sayana, her breathing slightly labored from the burst of speed. "That's one, lady," she told the Eypharian. Her eyesight wasn't any sharper than the average human's, but she was determined to beat this six-armed woman.

[Sayana]

Sayana gave a soft nod at Asen’s suggestion of hunting and selling the rabbits. She wasn’t sure if she’d actually manage to catch one or kill it, but it would certainly be an interesting challenge. It was more exciting than looking for plants, regardless of how useful they may be. At the Dhani’s question, Sayana paused for a moment. Perhaps she had just been lucky, but if she had already found two without even trying… Sayana glanced over to see the squire slowly creeping forwards with her gaze intent on yet another bunny. Three in total now. It seemed like a good place for animals. There was a source of water, lots of plant life, and plenty of places to hide. Rather like an oasis. The Eypharian chuckled as Asen dashed after the bunny, but it seemed like the little creature outdid her. As the squire returned panting slightly, Sayana brought a finger to her lips. She had just spotted a brown one rather deep in the underbrush. She treaded carefully along a half-formed trail that generally led to the rabbit. It was hard to move silently, but the bunny was far enough away not to hear or care about the occasional snap of a twig or rustle of leaves. Sayana moved slowly until she was several arm’s lengths away from the bunny. She prepared herself for a moment and then made a wild dash and dive towards the bunny. The rabbit scampered off far too quickly and Sayana landed in an awkward roll as various plants were tramped under her body. Ending up on her back, she gave a laugh and checked to see that her arms weren’t scraped. There was a cut on the back of one of her hands, but that was all and it wasn’t that big. “I think you fared better than I did, Asen,” Sayana commented from her position on the forest floor. “But I’m at three now.” From her new view, the Eypharian looked about and saw neat little piles of stones at the base of several of the trees. A look of confusion crossed her face and as she got up she realized that the ‘stones’ were probably rabbit droppings. “Asen! There are probably a whole bunch of bunnies in the area. Look at all those… droppings. Maybe there’s a den of sorts. That is, if bunnies have dens like snakes do. If we could try to follow one…” While her reasoning might be sound, a rabbit may or may not lead a potential predator back to its den.

[Asen]

Asen bent over and put her hands on her knees, still panting as she watched Sayana sneak towards what she assumed was another rabbit. It was certainly an odd sight, a woman with six arms. The only other person she'd seen with multiple sets of arms was Aventis, and he was no less strange.

Sayana's chasing after the rabbit was probably just as ridiculous-looking as the half-Dhani's, though the extra arms added to the hilarity of it all. Not to mention their flailing about as the Eypharian fell. "'Course I did better. I don't have those arms o' yours to slow me down. Speakin' o' which, how-"

She was interrupted by Sayana's exclamation. The woman was peering at something at the base of the trees, mentioning droppings. The squire frowned for a moment, then she identified the word. "Droppings? You mean bunny shyke?" she asked. She had a certain... lack of eloquence. She'd picked up the art of swearing from adolescent boys, much to the dismay of her father.

"I think... I think bunnies have somethin' called 'utches. I'unno about snakes, Da an' I lived in an apartment like everyone else in Riverfall. I en't from what you'd consider a normal nest, 'specially since Ma was human," she told the Eypharian, picking her way across the ground to stand by her.

"Seein' as how there're so many piles o' shyke around 'ere, there's bound to be a den o' sorts. You wanna split up, see if we can find 'em? Two pairs o' eyes're better than one, after all."

Asen slipped away, scouring the bases of the tree trunks for holes. "Lemme know if you find anythin', Sayana. I could probably stick my 'and down there easier than you could any o' yours."

[Sayana]

“You aren’t full Dhani?” Sayana asked with a bit of disappointment in her tone. It had always saddened her to see a baby born of only two arms despite having an Eypharian parent. They were lacking, not only in status and purity but in a world of experience. But was this what she was doing to her own child? But he would be an Akalak, full blooded, strong, proud like his father… The Dhani, half-Dhani, didn’t seem to make a big point of it. Perhaps that was all she knew and she was soon suggesting a method, a tactic to hunt down the bunnies. “Sure, I’ll look over here,” Sayana agreed as she dusted off the leaves from her skirt and began to search the forest floor. Now that the rabbit had dashed off, the Eypharian wasn’t so worried about making sound. Perhaps it would even make it easier to spot a moving rabbit that was anxious about an approaching predator. She stomped through the underbrush and pushed aside branches. “Asen!” Sayana called. “Just because I have six-arms doesn’t mean they don’t function. And make sure you don’t get lost.” She added that as an afterthought as she wondered farther from the trails. So long as they were within yelling range and not too far from the hotsprings, it should be alright. Sayana bent down to pull aside a shrub with strange leaves hoping that there might be a rabbit hole or something behind it. No such luck. However, when she looked at the shrub more carefully, it had little brown berries. Now why did this seem familiar? It suddenly dawned on her that it might be a jile plant or shrub or whatever it was. And the leaves… maybe there was something about them that kept them green compared to other leaves? Sayana still found it odd that the leaves fell off during the winter but maybe it didn’t happen to all plants up north, hence ‘evergreen’. With a shrug, she decided to pick some of the berries and put them in her bag. “Got a little side-tracked. Coming!” Sayana called out into the woods hoping that Asen wasn’t too far off. That’s when she spotted them, two of them. There had been a flicker of movement and Sayana could now see the two brown bunnies next to one of the paths. She carefully stepped out from the underbrush and slowly made her way along the trail. As she approached, she could see one of the rabbits twitch its ear as if it knew something was happening and it gave a tentative hop in one direction. “Asen!” Sayana spoke in an exaggerated stage whisper in attempt to avoid scaring the bunnies. However, it didn’t work so well since the two rabbits made several more hops away from the Eypharian. Sayana tried to creep along the trail but even as she attempted to move quietly, they outpaced her. So long as they were merely doing small hops and not dashing off, then at least Sayana could keep them in sight. However, all this stalking and creeping soon got the better of her patience. With a sigh she looked up at the dense foliage above and wondered how so many trees could grow so tightly together. But when she looked back at the bunnies they were gone. Not a trace. “Asen, I swear there were two of them over here but they just disappeared.”

[Asen]

"Nope, I en't full Dhani. Only 'alf. Don't sound so disappointed, it en't that bad," Asen told the Eypharian with a grin, "I don't get too tired in cold weather an' I don't have that ssstupid extensssion on my 's' sounds like Da does. 'Course 'e can do a lot o' things I can't, but I'd rather be 'alf than full."

She lifted the branches of a few bushes, peering underneath them for any signs of tunneling. Did rabbits have tunnels? She wasn't particularly sure they did. Were hutches tunnels? The half-Dhani glanced up at Sayana's voice. "Aye, an' just 'cause I'm only a 'alfbreed don't mean I en't less of a person 'cause of it," she retorted.

The squire knelt at the base of a tree, carefully looking for rabbit tracks. She wasn't really sure what she was looking for, anyways. There were a few scuffs here and there, but everything was covered in grass. She actually got hung up on one of her own footprints, where the blades had been flattened in the general shape of a sitting rabbit. She was about to call to her companion when she noticed another footprint, quickly realizing her mistake.

Asen raised her head a second time at Sayana's call, hand going to her sword. The whisper was of excitement, however, and involved rabbits. She hurried towards the Eypharian in a comical run, startling another pair of rabbits as she sped by. "Look, there're two more! There're a lot of bunnies today... Are there usually this many?" she asked.

"An' that's what, two to one? Plus... another two for you... that's four. An' another two. So that's six, to my..." she counted for a moment, "three. I 'ave three," she said dully, letting her hands drop.

A small twinkle of white appeared at the edge of her vision. She whipped her head around eagerly, dropping to her hands and knees. Maybe she'd win this competition! If it had been a clump of flowers, that is. This one was just a single flower, and bent at the middle of the stem.

"Aw, shyke. I thought that was one o' the things. Vyfox, right? En't that the flower?" she asked, standing up. Asen elbowed Sayana playfully, now beside her.

"You got twice the bunnies I do, d'you wanna call it game? You clearly won," said the half-Dhani with a chuckle.