Closed You Can't Do This On Your Own [Merevaika]

[Kei]

11th of Spring, 515 AV

Kei circled his prey, which, at the moment, was a medium-sized snake.

He had been on his own for roughly ten days now and he had really accomplished nothing. He had traveled to Riverfall, hoping for some sort of help or guidance, but really was just confused by the blue people. Why were they blue anyways? Being blue was aside the point, they mostly only spoke Tukant. Even though Kei knew a few words in Tukant, he still didn't know what most of them were saying ninety-nine percent of the time.

So thus he was back into the Sea of Grass most days. He had to hunt various animals just to eat. It wasn't like he had no money - he had 600 gold Mizas - he just didn't know how they worked or how to use them.

He liked to pride himself in thinking that he had become good at hunting. Which was a lie. Kei was still rather bad when it came down to tracking things; he always seemed to make too much noise. In some way or another, he always messed up.

But today, he was going to catch something.

Kei had already hidden his backpack in the grass and could only hope that nothing messed with it. For the last ten minutes, Kei had been circling a snake that was easily five-and-a-half feet long if straightened out. It was a soft green color - the same as the grass it slithered through - so it was hard to keep track of it.

At first, Kei had not thought that he could carry something that was so large, but after trying to hunt a few other smaller snakes, he learned that snakes were not actually that heavy. Unless they had just enjoyed a large meal. Then they were rather hard to carry. But this snake did not look like he just ate a few birds, so Kei had decided that he could hunt it. He was rather glad that he discovered that the length of a snake did not also even out with it's weight.

After another moment of circling, Kei tucked his wings in and turned down, diving fast down to the snake. It was rather hard to control the speed of the dive; Kei was still not completely used to being a bird. He was never allowed to switch from being a human to a bird and vise versa. The dive was sloppy, to say the least.

As he came closer to the snake, he turned, his taloned feet now facing the snake. He opened them along with his wings, slowing the descent. Once he was close enough, Kei grabbing the head of the snake and squeezed. The snake, having enough pressure be put on it's head, struggled for a moment before it's body went limp and Kei began to beam with pride.

He had caught a snake.

Kei spent another moment trying to find his backpack. He spotted it and began to head back with his new meal.

Now the challenge would be cooking it.

NoteJESUS. Martial Eagles are like, ridiculous. I had originally made the snake six feet long, but then I thought: 'He wouldn't be able to carry that.' Nope. I was wrong. I did some research on Martial Eagles while I was typing and apparently these things hunt geese and some snakes caled Black Mambas. Black Mambas can be NINE FEET LONG. SIX AT THE LEAST. I was just sitting there like: 'OMG WUT' Like, and these snakes weigh about 3.5 pounds on average, so everything I put in this post is real. But like, what???? I'm done. I just needed to get that out of my system. ;-;

[Merevaika]

Merevaika was alone, her horse and dog back at her tent. At some times, she preferred to hunt like this, alone, free, unrestricted. Both were valued allies when on the hunt, giving her speed and helping guide the prey, but when they did come, it was twice as hard, more noisy, more likely to be spotted and Merevaika had to care for both. Alone, hunting was both harder and easier. Today, she preferred it like that.

The area around Riverfall was similar to the rest of the Sea of Grass, but was strangely different, an alien landscape. Merevaika felt less confident around the city, knowing how much she didn't know. The language was the greatest barrier, for on previous visits she had been with her family and had no need to speak it. The drykas hadn't even picked up the slightest word, having stayed far from the actual Akalaks.

She was thankful that they had the same currency, but she knew that it wouldn't last too long. Besides, she needed the practise hunting.

Merevaika was following a trail that seemed to be a common pathway for some sort of small mammal. There were various prints, but all were overlapping and unclear, but they seemed fairly fresh. Here and there was a tuft of fur, or some droppings but none meant anything to the novice tracker.

Something twitched in the grass, brown ears poking out. A hare. It sniffed, ears turning at the slight noise of Merevaika's footsteps. Merevaika froze, managing to soften the noise. The hare turned its head slightly, bouncing a little further. Merevaika approached slowly, stopping ever other step.

Her bow was ready, arrow nocked, string pulled back. This was the way she preferred, the only movement left the aim and release. Sinking a little, the huntress squinted, lining up the tip of the arrow with the hare. With a deep breath, she released, letting the arrow fly through the arrow. The hare turned, spotting the arrow and bounded off, powerful legs moving quickly.

But Merevaika didn't try to chase it, nor go to fetch her arrow. Her eye lingered on a lump in the grass. A... backpack? As she approached, she picked up her arrow while looking around. The place seemed empty, but then whose was it? Why would they leave it?

She felt herself longing to just take it, seeing that it was all alone unguarded. But that very reason was the one that stopped her. What if it was a trap? Standing steps away from it, she surveyed her surrounding for any sign of human life. Nothing.

[Kei]

Kei had caught a few snakes before, but none of them were as big as the one he currently had clutched in between his claws. It was like everything else in the world; it seems light when you first start carrying it, but once you've got it for a while, it starts to feel heavier, even if it's not. Right now, this snake seemed very heavy.

If eagles could sigh, Kei was positive that he did. But like everything he knew and even his life itself, it was short lived. There were some pros and cons in this situation. Exhibit A: The backpack was becoming closer and closer. Exhibit B: He would be able to pack up and try and figure out how to cook the snake. If all else failed here, he could just eat it as an eagle. Exhibit C: There was a woman who has noticed the backpack and is closing in. And finally, Exhibit D: Said woman had a bow and some arrows. Kei had nothing but a snake.

He supposed that if push came to shove he could always throw the snake at her and while she was worried about flying snakes, he could swoop in, grab his backpack, and dash. The only issue is that who wouldn't noticed the huge bird dropping a snake on your head without first noticing the shadow that both bird and snake would cast.

Several plans were thought out. One involving just straight up going at her with talons and beak. Then second being leave her be for a while and hope she doesn't take anything. The third - well, you get the point. The problem was that every plan that Kei thought of, there was always a loophole that the woman could follow. Even if Kei didn't know the woman, it would fare better for him just to assume that was all around better at him than nearly everything.

There were no good plans, Kei decided. It would more than likely be something that he would wing. Hehe, he'd have to wing it. Very punny. The small thought would've made him smile if he were human. At the very least, it was making him feel slightly better.

So it was decided: Kei would just wing it.

It took a moment for Kei to work up the courage to just dive down to the backpack; after all, he had no idea what this woman would do. With his luck, she would be a slave hunter. Or a slaver. Or whatever those people are called. He never actually knew, though he supposed any of those words would work.

But when he did get the courage, he flew down, extending his wings out and putting his feet forwards for landing. He landed next to the backpack, glanced up at the woman, and then went to gathering his things the best he could in bird form, which - he had half expected - was rather difficult.

[Merevaika]

No one. It was still. Merevaika decided to go for it, to take the rucksack and hope for the best. If the worst came to the worst, she could always try to get away with saying that she was looking to return it to the owner. Yes, that seemed like a suitable lie.

But the second she bent slightly to grab it, a shadow appeared in the sky. It was a bird, an eagle, large and imposing, large black and white underside showing. It was holding a humongous snake in its beak, looking like what seemed impossible was a simple feat. Perhaps it was to the bird.

However, it didn't seem to leave. That was what stopped the Drykas from acting further. The bird seemed to be watching her just as intently as it watched the backpack, almost as if... No. The backpack had nothing to do with the eagle - it couldn't have.

Then the bird did something she didn't expect. It flew down, wings out and feet ready for landing. It stopped beside the backpack, casting a look at her before seeming to gather up some things.

"What are you?" The words left as quickly as a thought came. Kelvic. She had met a few, but not many, the idea still foreign and the concept alien. This bird, this animal, could in fact also take the form of a man or woman. It explained the possession of a backpack anyway. A bird wouldn't own it, but a human would.

"Are you Kelvic?" she muttered out in Common, hoping it would understand. Could Kelvic's understand human language while animal? "I mean no harm. Please. Just... curious." Merevaika shook her head a little at her frustration with the language. There were no hand signals, instead there was writing. Just like Kelvics, it was foreign to her. Merevaika wished less was foreign. Especially Common. She didn't know the Akalak language, so Common was the next option she presumed. Most knew it. Enough knew it.

[Kei]

It made him feel better to see a confused person. At least he wasn't alone - at the moment - in that. He was always confused by others so this was a nice change for him.

He dropped the snake next to the backpack and started pulling things out when he heard her asking what he was. Kei tensed slightly, but not as much as he thought he would. He was glad that she knew Common and not some other language that he couldn't understand.

Her mentioning of him being a Kelvic was something he had expected. Who would think some random bird could fly down and just start arranging a random bag? Not any bird that Kei had the pleasure of knowing. Not that he knew any birds...

She had asked him if he was a Kelvic. Kei bobbed his head up and down in a motion that he hoped would come off as him nodding his head. This form of communication would work for a little bit, but sooner or later - more than likely the first - Kei would have to switch to human form to try and talk to this woman.

Knowing a few things about people who aren't Kelvic from his time as a slave, Kei gathered that they were modest. He never really understood the need for modesty, but he would try his best to stay on the good side of this woman; she still had that bow.

Kei opened the backpack with moderate difficulty and pulled out his clothing. He dropped the clothes on the ground and motioned to them with his head. He hoped that she understood what he was asking. The idea was to tell her that he would be shifting to human and he would quite obviously not have any clothes on. Kei didn't want to offend her in anyway with nudity. Things would become awkward very quickly if he did.

[Merevaika]

The snake the eagle was holding looked even bigger on the ground beside the backpack. Thoughts flashed through Merevaika's head. Would she be quick enough if she grabbed the bag and snake and ran? No, she couldn't be. The bird most definitely could fly faster. Perhaps she could shoot it, take the backpack and snake as well as the bird itself. But if the bird was Kelvic, that didn't seem right, and as long as the suspicion was there, Merevaika didn't feel happy thinking about it. But was killing a Kelvic like killing a human? Were Kelvics human enough for it to be wrong? Perhaps she had already killed loads, all dead by her bow and arrow, shot without knowing their true nature? Was there a way to tell animal from Kelvic when dead or alive?

Merevaika stopped mid-thought, returning to the bird in question. There was no point standing around and thinking while the bird just stood there. It seemed to be looking at her, its head bobbing up and down. Was it nodding? It could have been coincidence, but Merevaika knew it wasn't. This bird was replying to her. Meaning it wasn't just a bird, but a Kelvic.

The eagle then started to peck at the backpack, opening it slowly, pulling out pieces of cloth. As he did so, Merevaika realised was his actions meant. For some reason, perhaps embarrassment, modesty or just politeness, he was preparing clothes to wear when he shifted. He seemed to be struggling, but Merevaika left him be, not wanting to have misunderstood his actions.

Luckily, it seemed that she hadn't. The bird started to gesture towards the clothing with its head, once again trying to communicate with the human. At least it understood her. It would be twice as hard if neither understood each other. The again, they probably wouldn't be in this situation if that was so.

The only thing Merevaika didn't get was what the bird wanted from her by gesturing to the clothes. Was it simply a message to show what it was doing, or did the eagle want to tell her something else. Merevaima turned her back, hoping she had understood the message. Even if she hadn't, she allowed him privacy and saved both from embarrassment. Did Kelvics feel embarrassed?

"Feel free to change. I'm waiting, privacy," she quickly said, not wanting to appear rude.

[Kei]

The shifting of forms always made Kei feel awkward. The change between being an eagle to a human and vice versa was always something that confused him, but intrigued him at the same time. He never was able to imagine what he looked like during the transition, but Kei always imagined it was for the best.

After he was finished shifting, he dressed himself. Again, it was something he thought was awkward. The weight of clothing no matter how much it did weigh in the end was something that Kei never enjoyed. But it was for the comfort of others.

"You can turn around now." Kei spoke in Common, seeing as it was what this woman spoke in so he could only assume this was the only language they had in common. "And I would prefer that you not be holding the bow. It's making me rather wary."

He was hoping that he wasn't being rude in any way, but Kei couldn't really help it. This bow and the arrows that went along with it were a threat and Kei didn't like it. So he was hoping that this woman would put the bow down or at least the arrows.

NoteI'm sorry for the wait, I went on a school trip out of state that lasted from six in the morning until ten at night. ;-; Needless to say I really didn't have the muse or feel like typing anything. Also, apologies on the shortness of the post.

[Merevaika]

noteDon't worry about the time/length! I struggle with posts all the time too. Feel free to take as long as you need, and with that point I apologise for any long wait times too!

Merevaika wondered what to do while waiting. How long did it take to shift? Was it instantaneous? Merevaika had a million questions, but knew that the answers wouldn't ever affect her. As she waited for the Kelvic to take its human form, she wondered what it would be. Man or woman? Young or old? Merevaika fought the urge to turn and look, not wanting to appear inappropriate and embarrass her companion.

"You can turn around now," came the long awaited words, and the Drykas spun round, eager to see the human behind the eagle. It was a young man, messy dark brown hair with tints of grey and white, mimicking his feathers. He was tall and muscular, with piercing gold eyes, ones that scared Merevaika. They were too much like an animal's, staring, unmoving.

"And I would prefer that you not be holding the bow. It's making me rather wary," he added. Merevaika cast a look to her hands, where the old bow rested comfortably. She wasn't holding it in an aggresive way, nor ready to shoot. Merevaika assumed it was a fear brought on from his bird form, but she obliged to his request, placing it gently on the ground.

Greetings she signed naturally, a process drilled into her, before realising that they were conversing in Common, and that she should stay in Common.
"Apology," she started again, "Hello. I am Merevaika. You are...?" How she hated the language. Where were the signs? "I mean you harm. No, no! I mean you no harm. Forgive, I am not best at Common, but I try." She was making such a fool of herself. Merevaika took a few breaths to settle her thoughts, planning her next sentence. "What are you doing in Sea of Grass?"

[Kei]

Kei relaxed after the bow was place on the ground. He had been tense and knew that he would probably keep glancing at the bow had she continued holding it. This woman had asserted a threat towards Kei earlier while he was in bird form and she held more strengths than him even more so as he was in human form. He was weaker as a human, so therefore, on higher alert.

Right now though, this woman - Merevaika - seemed save to talk to; at least for a little bit. Not to mention her stumbling over words in Common was rather amusing.

Before she spoke her name and asked why Kei was traveling through the Sea of Grass, Kei noticed her signing. It was Pavi, he believed, though he wasn't quite sure that that was what the language was called. He was also pretty sure that the language was associated with Drykas.

Kei only knew enough Pavi for simple, as basic as you could get conversation. He knew enough that what Merevaika had signed was a greeting. During his time as a slave, he can remember his cart being stopped so that the guards could speak to people that rode upon horses.

From observation, it was obvious that the language was mostly spoken through hand signs. Kei had taken quite a while to learn what he knew, despite it being only a small amount. From what Kei had overheard the guards talking about, Pavi was a hard language to learn, so Kei accepted what he had as an accomplishment.

"My name is Kei." He responded, still slightly amused by her confused of words. It was clear that Pavi was her first language and it bothered her not to have any signs to use. "I was hunting, and I assume that's why you are here also." He motioned toward the bow.

[Merevaika]

The man - or was it Kelvic? Did it make a difference? The man or Kelvic relaxed when she placed down her bow, but Merevaika felt less confident without it. She had no reason not to trust him, but she had no reason to trust him either. This whole thing could be set up to make her vulnerable to attack, and without her bow she wouldn't feel secure. Then again, perhaps she would be able to take him without a weapon. She found her hand drifting to her waist, remembering a knife was hidden under a baggy shirt. No. It wouldn't come to that. But the thought of a hidden weapon just in case soothed her, and she relaxed too.

The Kelvic seemed amused at her stumbling, and Merevaika grew red, head turned in shame. Luckily, he didn't point it out, and for that she was glad. "My name is Kei. I was hunting, and I assume that's why you are here also," he replied, motioning towards the bow. Merevaika nodded, once again growing red. Of course he was hunting - she had seen him return with a catch!

"You shouldn't leave your bag alone - unattended. Safer to keep it home. Someone could have taken it," she began talking again, trying to push him down a little. She was fed up with being embarrassed and the fool in the conversation, not that they had had much of one. It was only just beginning. "That snake looks big. All for you? It must be hard cook, if you don't know how. Snake is tasty though. Had some... last day?"

Merevaika tried to keep her face straight, but her mouth curled with a cunning smile. Hopefully, through her bad Common and accent, he would realise what she meant behind the words. Merevaika was hoping that he would be eating alone, and that he couldn't cook snake. That was what she was riding on. If the Kelvic got what she was trying to suggest, he would assume she could cook the snake (even though she couldn't, but he didn't have to know that) and ask her to join him. That would be a free meal for her. The only problem was the fact that Kei wouldn't get her subtle hints. She hoped he would.