Thunder? No Thanks!

by **Ixzo** on November 2nd, 2015, 11:30 pm

73rd of Autumn, 515AV
1st Bell, Morning
Amethyst District

It was easily morning by the time Ixzo got to settle down. Adjusting back to a daytime schedule was harder and harder as the nights got colder and colder. It was okay during the day. She could snooze by a wood stack, or something. To most, she assumed, it looked like she was taking a break. Yet, her new job required she be up for the afternoons, which was the most popular hour to get a tattoo.

So by the time she settled down for the night, the moon was already setting. She hadn't got more than the clothes she traded for the first few days in Endrykas, and so she walked through Endrykas, teeth chattering. Although walking was generous, she slunk through the tents more than leisurely strolled. Most of the city was asleep but every once in a while someone would wake to relieve themselves, or she would happen across the path of a watchman or a sleeping horse. She felt almost criminal being wide away this late, but in order to stay warm, she would keep walking. At the back of her mind, Ixzo thought of the leather coin purse that was mostly full. Surely she could get a blanket and a bedroll with it. A small tent and some flint and steel. The bare minimum to stay warm, and dry, given the recent weather.

Yet when this thought popped into her head, her mind would always wonder back to her lion form. Although right now she was thin, and not very strong, she found she could withstand quite a bit as a lion. If her animal form wasn't so… controversial in Endrykas, she would simply shift, and sleep between two tents or beside someone's woodpile. There were plenty of people around that she wouldn't have to sleep with one eye open. But of course that only applied if the people around her didn't see her as a threat.

So by the time the moon was sinking into the horizon, Ixzo found where her rest for the morning would be. One tent had a herd of sheep. The fluffy, yummy creatures were sleeping, huddled together. It looked inviting, and the Kelvic crept forwards. Not crouched like a hunter, but more like prey, she slunk closer to the sheep. A male on the edge woke, eyeing her for a moment. They must be terribly comfortable with humans because when she stepped closer, he simply repositioned his weight and fell back into slumber. Taking this as a good sign, Ixzo sidled up to the sheep, slipping her pack from her back and laying it on the floor.

She would have preferred to slid in between the warm animals, but that would either mean a light trampling in the morning, or scattering the herd. So Ixzo laid her head down on her hard, leather pillow and let herself look up at the stars. It took a while, but eventually she drifted off.

by **Ixzo** on November 2nd, 2015, 11:31 pm

9th Bell, Morning

Ixzo woke to barking. She had become a light sleeper since leaving Kenash, so it was only on the second bark when the Kelvic sprang to her feet. She was still groggy, but for a moment, the bright sun blinded her before she could focus on the thread. It was a herding dog, but he was not attacking, merely warning her away from his herd. Ixzo glanced back towards the sheep which had wandered way further away, leaving her behind as the sun rose.

"Hey!" Someone shouted, and Ixzo, not bothering to check if it was danger or not, stooped to pick up her back. Quickly, she slung the leather pack across her shoulders, and leapt forward away from the dog. She really hoped that thing didn't have the instinct to follow her. Good at quick bursts of running, Ixzo slipped between two more pavilions, turning the corner to get out of the person's view. There was no doubt that man owned the sheep, and was probably wondering why she was sleeping in his territory, but Ixzo's instincts didn't like for her to stay and explain herself like a proper human.

Darting through someone else's campsite, Ixzo narrowly dodged the warm embers the of the previous night's fire, however she did not miss the barrel of water, likely collected so that the family didn't have to take so many treks to the stream for a single sip. Ixzo cringed as the barrel wobbled, but only gave herself a tick to try to steady it before picking her speed back up.

After a chime of running, Ixzo was winded, and found herself back in the familiar marketplace. Bending over to rest her weight on her knees, the lengthy Kelvic had to take a moment to collect her breathe, upset that she was so out of shape she could barely make it two chimes running.

by **Ixzo** on November 2nd, 2015, 11:31 pm

When she could finally straighten herself, Ixzo cleared her throat, and uncomfortable dryness greeting her as she looked around the market place. But her decsion making on what to do next was disrupted by a drop of wetness on her elbow. Goose skin ran up her arm and into her chest and Ixzo looked up at the sky, seeing the impending doom for the first time.

Panic set in, at the thought of getting stuck in the rain once again. She didn't mind the rain, she simply didn't want to be in it when Makutsi let the sky's free. Ixzo grimaced, her thoughts going right back to her coins. Barely five gold would get her a proper tent and a bedroll. She could spend a little more for the basic necessities, but Ixzo wasn't particularly ready to spend what little she had.

When Ixzo found Garthos' Supply, she realized how easy it would be to spend all her money. But Ixzo tried to focus, limiting herself as she browsed through the supplies. She didn't need to think about it much. The smallest tent she could find, a thick looking bedroll and another blanket as well. She then picked up a simple Flint & Steel, as well as a two gallon bucket. Because she knew she would be carrying her tent around for a while, even if it was the smallest she could find, Ixzo picked up a simple canvas rucksack as well. A basic everything-game knife, a hatchet for good use and a water skin followed, and before Ixzo could find herself looking for more comfort, she turned away. She had more than she needed to survive until Injal paid her. More than she needed…

Silver eyes caught on a bar of soap, and self-consciously, she picked it up, adding it to her arm-full of items and bringing it over to the checking table. Quietly, she watched as the person added up the total for he things. When the Drykas asked, she reluctantly surrendered the coins to him, worried about her depleting supply. Before she left though, Ixzo set to work packing her things up for ease of transport. The rucksack held the tent and be blanket. The bedroll went into her back, although it took up most of the room, forcing her to slid the flint and steel as well as the hatchet into the sides. The knife was attached to the outside of the pack for easy reach, and the water skin was hooked on her shoulder, and the bucket attached to the out hook of the bag.

receipt :

by **Ixzo** on November 2nd, 2015, 11:32 pm

She felt like a fool carrying around all those things when she left Garthos' Supply, but the first clap of thunder confirmed Ixzo's resolve. It didn't take the lion long to find a small area on the edge of the tent city. There was a scattering of brush, which separated the very small plot of land from the other tents, which was perhaps why no one had claimed it yet, although when Ixzo looked down at the dry grass, it was evident the spot was a favored grazing place while the grass was still tall.

Plopping her things down, Ixzo removed the tent. Jittery fingers unraveled the ropes that tied it together and Ixzo nervously looked at up at the sky, uncertain of when it would break. Homelessness hadn't been so bad when it was just cold. But, like most cats, she didn't quite like getting wet. She didn't like what a good drenching did to her coat, or her ears. That and while a lion, she couldn't hold her breathe, so why take the chance if you don't need to?

And even though a thin veil of canvas between her and the lightening was very little protection, Ixzo preferred it to a pocket of gold and a drenched coat.

When she laid it out in the dimming daylight, the tent looked fairly easy. Except for the bundle of separated bamboo. Hesitantly, Ixzo picked up two of the sturdy sticks, she examined them, realizing how their had odd chunks carved out of each end. It was fairly easy to figure it out from there. She flipped the bamboo rod in her left hand over, and fitted it into the crevice of the one in her right hand. The twist to get them together took a bit of effort, which made her worry she had done it wrong, but once she did, the bamboo stuck together very well. Ixzo grinned at the minor accomplishment and turned back to the other pieces. Four of the bamboo rods stuck out to her. Two of the four were exactly like the others, except one end had two sticks in the end, forming a small 'X' at the end.

by **Ixzo** on November 2nd, 2015, 11:33 pm

It took Ixzo a moment, but she realized that was the end that went into the ground, and the 'X' was simply to hold it there. Setting the two ends aside, she picked up the other two different pieces. Just like the rest, each had once side that fitted to the rest. And on the other side, there was no sticks. Instead the bamboo was carved at a slant, which two metal hooks on each end, one towards the top end of the curve and once at the bottom.

Not quite sure what to do with that, she decided to put the two sticks together first. Once both poles have been constructed, she pulled out the rope that came with the tent, it was to spread between the two poles for the canvas to lay over. Standing, Ixzo eyed her small territory, and figured where she wanted to put the tent. After a few ticks of eyeing up the space, she dug her toes into the ground, and then walked nearly ten feet before marking another spot.

Having no digging too, Ixzo snatched the hatchet up, digging it into the ground until the dirt and grass was loosened considerably. Once loosened, Ixzo dug her hand into the spot, creating a hole about half a foot deep. At the other marking she made she did the same. Then, Ixzo stood the pole up in each hold and packed the dirt and grass back over it, one by one.

Once that had been done, it was easy enough to loop the each end of the rope around both of the tallest hooks, slipping the extra length into one of the bamboo poles. Before putting the canvas over it, she decided to test the poles. Hesitantly, she put pressure on one of them, but it didn't budge. A little more weight into it, and Ixzo stopped, not actually wanting to knock it down. Ready to, she unfolded the canvas spreading it out on the ground so she could look at it. It was fitted to the poles, which was nice, so Ixzo merely slipped the canvas over the bamboo and rope. Adjusting it to make sure it was right, she nodded at her work

Picking up the stakes, she began to hook them through the canvas loops on each end of the tent. Then she circled back around to put them each into the ground. She didn't buy a stake mallet, so Ixzo simply stepped on each wooden steak, driving it into the ground with her weight. Once that was done, Ixzo nodded to herself.

She had a home, well, sort of.

by **Ixzo** on November 2nd, 2015, 11:33 pm

Yet when she looked at it, she felt she was missing something. Someone to turn to who could enjoy her accomplishment, instead she met the eyes of her neighbor's goat. Ugly teeth chewed dry grass as the weird slotted eyes watched her. Ixzo pouted at the thing, stooping to pick up her pack, which was considerably less now that the tent was out. Sticking her hand into the bag, she fished out bedroll, pulling it from the pack and tossing it in. she did the same with the blanket and looked at the rest of her items. Time to make a fire pit. Ixzo looked around her. The dry brush that surrounded her was the perfect tinder if she could get it before the rain started, yet what would she use for a more stable fuel? Ixzo decided not to worry about it. Stepping a few feet from the entrance of her tent, she took her hatchet, digging up the soil in a relatively medium-sized circle. Once the grass was chopped up and the soil loosened, Ixzo set to work picking the dry ground week from the pile, shaking out the roots and separating it. That would be the first of her tinder, and easy enough as it was. Leaving the dirt loose for a moment, she stood to look around her.

Finding rocks to contain her fireplace was not particularly hard, it just took a while digging through the bushes before she found enough of the rough stones to ring her circle. Once she had done so, Ixzo carefully stacked the rocks around the ring until the circle was properly encased. Then, the lioness patted down the dirt so it was packed tight, spreading some up over the rocks to help seal the makeshift wall.

Fireplace: done.

by **Ixzo** on November 2nd, 2015, 11:34 pm

This time, Ixzo kept moving, since she was beginning to feel the first sprinkles from Makutsi. Quickly, Ixzo sprang into the underbrush, pulling dead leaves from the branches until her bucket was full She returned to her camp to set the tinder inside to keep it dry, and then turned back to the single bush that she had stripped of its leaves. Taking her hatchet, she hacked into the thick part of the bush, whacking it a few times until the branch gave way. Since it was so low to the grown and had so many leaves, she simply picked the small tangle of branches up. She hoped that once the storm blew over this would be enough wood to keep her fire going until sunnier days could dry the dead brush.

Tossing the bush into the tent as well,, Ixzo was getting increasingly nervous as the rain started to fall. She couldn't rub the goose skin away now as the cold water settled into her skin, and even though Ixzo wanted to stay out and make the land she was on more… livable, the quick clap of thunder sent her diving into the tent. For a few ticks, Ixzo gathered herself.

She truly didn't mind the rain. In fact, back in Taloba, Ixzo loved the rain. The thunder and lightning her equally welcome when she was protected under the thick canopy of the forests, more or less out of the way of Zulrav's wrath.

But not here. In the sea of grass, there was nothing but air between her and the vengeful sky, so Ixzo thought it plenty reasonable to jump when lightening lit up the canvas around her. No longer bothering to clean up what she had tossed inside, planning to organize things once she was out of the rain, the lioness pulled her arms over her knees and curled into a ball. Thinking quick, and not caring for the dirt, she grabbed the winter blanket from it's heap over the bedroll, and wrapped it around herself. It was silly to fear lightening so much, she never had before. But Ixzo had to explain herself to no one, since no one was there.

A pang of loneliness tucker her chin into her knees and Ixzo adjusted the blanker a little to cover her completely. The Kelvic shivered when thunder rolled above her and she waited for the flash of lightening. When it came, she could watch the heavy drops rolling down the this canvas tent, and she was glad she had set it up tightly enough that there were no leaks. And as the tent was created, the canvas bending out at the bottom, the water could not find it's way in underneath. But the cold, the cold always found a way. Even wrapped tightly in her blanket for warmth, it took nearly a bell of cringing at the lightening before she could finally drift off to sleep.

by **Tribal** on November 20th, 2015, 11:35 pm

G R A D E S

Ixzo

Experience

Wilderness Survival, Plains: 5
Endurance: 2
Logic: 2
Stealth: 1
Intelligence: 2
Observation: 4
Running: 1
Planning: 3
Organisation: 3
Bodybuilding: 1

Lore

Endrykas: Autumn temperatures
Tattooing: Popular in the afternoon
Wilderness Survival: Walking to keep warm
Endurance: Cold weather without warm clothing
Endrykas: The Watch
Makutsi: The Rainbringer
Makutsi: Goddess of Water
Wilderness Survival: Basic survival items
Location: Garthos' Supply
Wilderness Survival: Putting up a tent
Wilderness Survival: Building a fire
Endrykas: Seasonal storms, thunder and rain
Zulrav: Father of Storms

Penalties

-The hatchet may start to rust if not cleaned correctly.

Notes

I really enjoy reading about Ixzo's adventures, no matter how small; you're doing a great job of bringing her to life in these short, interesting stories. Enjoy the rewards.