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Zhol made sure to let his fingers brush and linger against Khara as he took the food she offered, the subtlest of smiles tugging at his lips in gratitude, not just for the segments of apple but for finding a small task so that he could feel like he was making a genuine contribution. Khara could just have easily asked to borrow the sighting lens for herself - she had a much better idea of what they were looking for than he did, after all - but no; it was his, and so he should be the one to use it. He supposed it was no different than asking a reimancer to light a fire when you had a perfectly good flint and tinder, but that did nothing to diminish the sweetness of the sentiment.
Fumbling the lens out of his pocket, he brought it to his eye and popped the apple segment into his mouth, letting his saliva soak into the dried fruit and leech out a little of the flavour before he began to chew. His slow survey of the meadow ahead was thorough but lacked conviction; he had every intention of seeing nothing before handing the lens to Khara so that the right person was the one making the find. His extended gaze swept casually across the long grasses of the meadow and the gentle tumble of the river - little more than a bubbling stream at this altitude - tracking from side to side until it reached the steep walls of the valley. He began with the tangle of trees in the background, working his way slowly towards where they stood, growing steadily more disheartened at their chances. True, he didn't want to see anything before Khara could, but there was not seeing anything, and there was seeing nothing, and those weren't quite the same thing.
Suddenly he froze, his hand twitching backwards a few degrees to where the lens had just been aimed. He'd almost missed it, head bowed, lapping away at the cool water; it was only the slight rise of the creature's head to survey it's surroundings, a movement Zhol had caught out of the very corner of his eye, that had allowed the horse boy to notice it before.
Excitement mixed with panic, a frantic combination in his chest. What should he do? Would he startle it if he moved? Did these deer - he'd made a mental note earlier while Khara was talking to remember that was what deer meant - have good enough eyesight to see him from all the way over here? What about hearing? Would they know he was there if he said anything to Khara?
He took a chance, gently grabbing hold of Khara's arm, and tugging her to the ground. He pulled the lens away from his eyes and waved it frantically in the direction of what he had seen. He glanced back, only to find a large rock obscuring their view. He swore silently, pulling her along in his wake as he crouch-waddled his way to the rock, crawling stealthily up it's mossy surface until the tiniest fraction of his head appeared above it. He pressed the lens back to his eye and peered again; at first he couldn't find it, and panicked that it may have seen him and bolted, but a moment of logic took control and inspired him to follow the flow of the river until he found the deer, still drinking.
"Me am see deer," he breathed, over-exaggerating the mouth movements just in case Khara couldn't hear his intentionally quiet words. "Next the edge water. It am drunk the water."
Zhol made sure to let his fingers brush and linger against Khara as he took the food she offered, the subtlest of smiles tugging at his lips in gratitude, not just for the segments of apple but for finding a small task so that he could feel like he was making a genuine contribution. Khara could just have easily asked to borrow the sighting lens for herself - she had a much better idea of what they were looking for than he did, after all - but no; it was his, and so he should be the one to use it. He supposed it was no different than asking a reimancer to light a fire when you had a perfectly good flint and tinder, but that did nothing to diminish the sweetness of the sentiment.
Fumbling the lens out of his pocket, he brought it to his eye and popped the apple segment into his mouth, letting his saliva soak into the dried fruit and leech out a little of the flavour before he began to chew. His slow survey of the meadow ahead was thorough but lacked conviction; he had every intention of seeing nothing before handing the lens to Khara so that the right person was the one making the find. His extended gaze swept casually across the long grasses of the meadow and the gentle tumble of the river - little more than a bubbling stream at this altitude - tracking from side to side until it reached the steep walls of the valley. He began with the tangle of trees in the background, working his way slowly towards where they stood, growing steadily more disheartened at their chances. True, he didn't want to see anything before Khara could, but there was not seeing anything, and there was seeing nothing, and those weren't quite the same thing.
Suddenly he froze, his hand twitching backwards a few degrees to where the lens had just been aimed. He'd almost missed it, head bowed, lapping away at the cool water; it was only the slight rise of the creature's head to survey it's surroundings, a movement Zhol had caught out of the very corner of his eye, that had allowed the horse boy to notice it before.
Excitement mixed with panic, a frantic combination in his chest. What should he do? Would he startle it if he moved? Did these deer - he'd made a mental note earlier while Khara was talking to remember that was what deer meant - have good enough eyesight to see him from all the way over here? What about hearing? Would they know he was there if he said anything to Khara?
He took a chance, gently grabbing hold of Khara's arm, and tugging her to the ground. He pulled the lens away from his eyes and waved it frantically in the direction of what he had seen. He glanced back, only to find a large rock obscuring their view. He swore silently, pulling her along in his wake as he crouch-waddled his way to the rock, crawling stealthily up it's mossy surface until the tiniest fraction of his head appeared above it. He pressed the lens back to his eye and peered again; at first he couldn't find it, and panicked that it may have seen him and bolted, but a moment of logic took control and inspired him to follow the flow of the river until he found the deer, still drinking.
"Me am see deer," he breathed, over-exaggerating the mouth movements just in case Khara couldn't hear his intentionally quiet words. "Next the edge water. It am drunk the water."
"Pavi" | "Common" | "Nari" | "Symenos"
Dad Thoughts | Dinah Thoughts | Khara Thoughts
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This template was made by Khara, the letter Q, and the numbers 87 and 13.
