PM to join Helping a Old.... Friend? (Naiya)

[Jasmine Stormblood]

4th Spring 516 A.V.

Jasmine yawned stretching as she looked over to the tent flap. She slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Moving to her knees the woman rolled her head and popped her neck in several areas. Stretching once more the girl stood up and walked over to her clothes pulling on her shirt and loose pants. Jasmine hated the way tight legged pants felt against her skin when she was going about her day. After dressing the woman stepped out of the tent looking at the sky as it was starting to lighten. Smiling gently Jasmine was thankful for the slightly cool morning. Looking up to the sky she did not see Syna which meant Zulrav was most likely going to rain down on them again. Going inside She grabbed her flint and started a fire to drive the chill from her tent while getting her cooking pot. Filling the pot with water the woman put the it over the fire. Smiling she allowed time for the water to begin boiling once at a rolling boil Jasmine added in some rice. While the rice cooked the woman grabbed the cheese and cut about four pieces off with one of her daggers. Using her serving spoon to stir the rice Jasmine put the cheese in the rice allowing it to melt.

Dusting off her hands some the blonde got out her bowl and spoon. Shifting through more of her stuff the blond got the pouch of salt. Sprinkling just a little in for taste Jasmine stirred the rice porridge and put the salt away. Smiling gently she used a few pieces of scrapped leather to move the pot off the fire. Using a small spoon Jasmine gave it a try and smiled gently; she was content with the taste and began to put a few spoon fulls in her bowl. Sitting back on the pallet, Jasmine ate the food with a smile and petted Haven and Lara. Cutting a few tiny pieces of cheese off Jasmine fed both of them with a soft yawn. When Haven went towards the bowl sniffing Jasmine bopped her gently on the nose making her back up and sit down.

“No ma'am you know better,” Jasmine said as she had never allowed Haven to eat without it being on the ground before her.

Jasmine did not want to start any bad habits with the puppy. Bad habits at this age would cause much larger problems in the future. After finishing her food Jasmine put the food up so that Haven could not get into it. After cleaning up the bowl and spoon as well, the blonde got her weapons packed up. Two daggers, her hunting knife, the traps put in her yvas bags, and her quiver tied to the yvas; Jasmine looked over everything trying to decide whether she would be gone long enough to warrant taking some dried meat with her or not. Deciding against it Jasmine mounted up and headed out to the west to see what all there was to see. She had heard good things around the hunter's allegiance about the hunting going on in the west so far this early in the season. Pulling her hood up Jasmine made sure her hair was barely visible seeing as how that would be a red flag to the animals.

The Clan is Strength.
The Clan is Life.

[Naiya]

There was a chill touch to the air as Naiya stirred, quiet today, in hopes that Seirei would sleep in. The girl had been a good student, but today Naiya just wanted to be alone. She dressed quickly, casting her blue cloak across her shoulders the light silk the perfect counter to the chill.

Her red pommeled dagger was tucked into the scabbard at her hip, keeping close the last gift from her love. She grabbed her bow and spear as well, considering bringing javelins but not sure it was a reasonable weapon just yet.

She put her belongings into a pile, adding both of Shahar's extra waterskins to her load, she would fill them while she was out so they would have water later.

"Wildfire" here She called to the horse, tugging gently at his mane when he appeared in the growing light. She stifled a yawn, surprised to find herself still tired after the relaxing day they'd had before.

Grooming tools were just beside the yvas and bags in the travois, so Naiya didn't have to go far to grab the kit and get started. She curried with a rough textured stone, letting the circular motions of her hand be meditative rather than forced. The roughness of the stone made the task easier, so long as she was gentle, and she was free to let her mind wander for a few minutes. She curried his entire body, gentle on his legs, but still firm enough to chase away the clumps of spring time mud. When all the dirt and hair was loose on the surface of his coat, she grabbed the long bristled brush, using the stiffer material to sweep the hair off the horse with quick short flicks.

If she was being extra careful of looks, or perhaps preparing for a festival she would have taken the short soft bristled brush to his entire body, smoothing and shining his coat all over. Since she planned to ride and work, it was less important, instead she just used the gentle brush to remove dirt and loose hair from his face, a process Wildfire quite enjoyed, bobbing his head up and down against the brush when he decided she was going too slow.

She picked large stones from his hooves, not that he'd managed to collect too many, and then tossed the yvas pad across his back, careful to put it high and pull it backwards to keep from flattening his hair in the wrong direction. The yvas slipped over his head, securing it around him with gentle pulls as it pinned the pad into place.

She loaded one yvas bag with her extra belongings, foraging baskets, extra supplies, the empty waterskins. Her full sink and her weapons found ties on the yvas proper, sitting in reach.

She swung herself up onto his back, trotting him out of the camp with a gentle nudge. She bounced once, missing a beat as she asked him to slow, and turn back around.

"Food," She reminded him, letting her weight fall slowly into his back as she asked him to stop. She swung back down, pulling a chunk of cheese from a wax sealed jar, fruit followed, small and reddened in the sun. She glanced at her strider, checking his comfort in his gear before setting to work. A grinding stone and some dried meat joining her other food. She tore the meat to shreds, the rough stone breaking the dry meat apart fairly easily, then she added the cheese, smashing it into the meat with the fruits soon following. Seeds from a large sunflower went in next, grinding them with the entirety of the shell.

She smashed the ingredients together, using her stone to make a single palate of food. Usually she would have left such a thing in the sun to dry once more, but she needed to eat right then, and it couldn't stay on Wildfire's back. She rolled the soft mass into a ball, crumbling flat bread by hand and using it to cover the edges of the meal.

Content, she stowed the ingredients away and mounted with her travel ready meal. A gentle click of her tongue and a shift of her weight forward sent them off, following the path they had taken the previous day.

She didn't bother looking for tracks other than her own, she was checking traps, ones she and Seirei had set together. It had her hopeful that there would be something there. Not just because it would have made Shahar happy to know that she had learned something, but because Seirei would be overjoyed to know her traps had snared something.

She still had food in hand, and the rabbit was not going to go anywhere, so she perched in the growing light, eating the meat and cheese with a reminder that with the Zibri in milk and the calves being born soon, they would be fine, they would make it happily through the spring.

[Jasmine Stormblood]

Jasmine sat back on Chaser bringing him to a stop. She looked out at the world around in the cool air. It was amazing to look out and see for miles around. The blond lowered her hood while still gazing out into the open. Chaser snorted and lowered his head down to graze while the grass was still moist from the morning dew. Patting his side gently she dug an apple out and began to eat it. The squeaking of a small rabbit or mouse caught her attention. Swinging her leg over the woman slide down from atop Chaser's back.

Looking around Jasmine saw a small rabbit caught in a trap. Walking over the little creature began to trash even more causing it to finally snap its neck. A cold shiver ran down Jasmine's spine hearing the snap. No matter how many animals she helped hunt and skin that sound would never bring happiness. Shaking her head the blond knelt down looking at the trap. Jasmine looked at the trap not paying attention as a horse and rider came up behind her. Chaser snorted watching the two.

The Clan is Strength.
The Clan is Life.

[Naiya]

She finished her breakfast quickly, swooping down from Wildfire's back to snatch the rabbit. It struggled in her hands so she pulled her dagger and with a sharp jab cut it's throat. She left it to bleed in the grass, there would be no saving this spot now that it reeked of death, she only wished she had thought of that sooner.

Frustrated she wiped her blade clean in the grass, finishing the task with a swipe of cloth. She'd clean it properly on her return home. She removed a rope from her pack, tying it around the rabbit's back feet and letting it hang for a moment to finish dripping before attaching it to her yvas.

She gathered her trap next, leaving it intact, but it would have to move, at least some. She scoured the grass nearby, looking for a game trail or scat to show where the animals traveled.

Small prints like a miniature cat's paw made a line in the dirt. She paced along side it, following the markings until they led her to a lone tree. At the base she found a burrow, a target that was too easy. She used a low branch to tie her rope, and a loose knot to secure the loop hanging just above the hole. A small stick held the mouth of the rope open.

With luck when they popped out to forage, one would be caught in the loop, and when they ran, the noose would tighten and leave them ready for Naiya. She unhooked the rabbit from the yvas, rubbing it on the places where she had touched the rope. Perhaps soon she would get wire, it was supposed to be easier to manage than the rope which had to be carefully propped.

That done, Naiya mounted with a gentle hop, pulling herself back into her seat before reattaching the rabbit to the yvas. She steered Wildfire back to the path of the evening before with gentle steady pressure of her calf on his side, urging him to turn away from the push. Then a quick squeeze asking to move at a nice ground eating walk had them on their way.

She scanned the horizon as they went, their path familiar enough that she didn't have to devote too much attention to following it. To her surprise she saw a horse, a buckskin nearly hidden in the shifting of the colorful grass.

Naiya approached the horse, and subsequently her trap, wondering what a strider was doing out in the grass alone. It wasn't until she was closer that she saw the woman, crouched over a rabbit snared in Naiya's trap.

She coughed softly, alerting the woman to her presence. Surely she didn't intend to take a rabbit from a trap that wasn't her own?

[Jasmine Stormblood]

Jasmine looked and smiled before standing fully. Chaser snorted looking at the two new people that had arrived.

"Sorry about that. I looking at the craftsmanship. I have a few traps myself and have not used them yet. So I decided to study yours as much as I could without actually disturbing your kill. Though it appears that I speed up its death. Oh excuse my blabbering miss. My name is Jasmine Moonstone of the Diamond Clan," Jasmine said and a small bow of her head to the woman.

Raising back up Jasmine felt like she knew the woman. Making a strange face the blond fought to remember where she knew the red head from. Perhaps from an old hunting acquaintance, she mused before shaking her head and mounting up once more.

"Do excuse me, but have we meet before?" Jasmine asked looking at the woman as Chaser continued to graze.

The Clan is Strength.
The Clan is Life.

[Naiya]

Naiya nodded along with the woman's explanation, the shape of honesty in the woman assuaging her concerns. She took in the appearance of the woman, blonde, older, but perhaps close to Naiya's own age. For a chime she was concerned she may have offended the woman, a gentle apology taking shape in her posture.

"I am Naiya Dawnwhisper, I hail from Amethyst clan, but owe patronage to my husband's clan of origin should we be able to determine it." She said the words that she had adopted in the season past, hoping that it would save her trouble in the future. "However, I don't know that my traps are good to study, I only have a little bit of practice." She gestured to the trap, the rope had been draped, the knot loose. "That's the only one I know how to make."

The woman's face scrunched, bunching together in something akin to confused contemplation. She was strikingly pretty, surely a face Naiya would have remembered.

"I don't think we have, perhaps just in passing at a festival or some other city event?" She paused a moment, consideration crossing her features, "Unless it was last season... but I'm afraid much of the winter passed in a blur, I find myself forgetting a number of things that were said to occur." She shrugged, the pirate raids had been rough, and she had lost a number of days to grief and lack of sleep. "I used to work as a seamstress as well, in a shop in the Amethyst district."

She had met a number of people that way, working in her little shop. Shahar had found her there after they had run into one another once. It was just after she had gotten her windmarks, then nearly a year later they had met again, and from there things had spiraled into what was perhaps the happiest time of her life.

Apology, Shaped her hands, sure this time, because she was unable to help with the connection the woman had made. After a moment, Naiya swung herself down from Wildfire's back, freeing the rabbit from the trap with care to touch the rope as little as possible.

Once it was loose, she reset the trap, checking the tied end, the knot and the lay of the rope. If it had worked here once, perhaps it would do so again. She rubbed the rabbit along the rope to cover her own scent. It was a trick she had learned from Shahar, not long after their wedding.

"Perhaps you've met Amunet? She appears similar to myself, red hair, light eyes." Suggestion, unsure

[Jasmine Stormblood]

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"Yes, I have. I went foraging with the young woman after cleaning out her mare's hooves," Jasmine said with a smile and watched her work the knots.

"If I may. Who is your husband?" The blonde asked with a smile to her hoping that she had not overstepped some kind of line.

The pirate raids had taken a lot from almost everyone this last season. She had not seen much of her occasional hunting partner Shahar.

"Have you two not been to see Bull and Rosemary at their tent?" Jasmine asked gently trying to decide what kind of hunt to do.

She needed to work out traps before anything else. Of course her bow skills were starting to improve the more she went hunting. An idea hit the blond like a rock.

"Would you mind if I joined you on the hunt? I've found its easier with four eyes instead of just two," Jasmine said hoping the other woman would agree.

[Naiya]

"Perhaps, then, it is just that you recall her." Naiya offered in explanation. Surely she would remember this woman too if they had met before. She looked at her again, eyeing the woman's features and apparel. The blonde woman was striking, she noted again, it seemed unlikely that she would forget her. Perhaps, however, she had missed more in the past season than she thought.

"Do you often care for animals?" She added, wondering if perhaps the woman had more knowledge of animal care than she. She fought back the tide of emotion the thought of her husband caused, the wound still raw, the absence of her wife that followed only adding to her pain. She chose to push the question aside for the moment.

She signed again unknown names, she told her, unfamiliar with the people who seemed to have little to do with anything she had said. Still in her mind she tried to decide the best way to explain.

She nodded, agreement in the set of her shoulders although she still was tightlipped with sadness. Hunt together, split prey? She turned away to stow the find, in the bag hanging beside the other rabbit. Other traps to check she added with hesitance, concerned about letting them sit too long if they had caught prey.

When she thought she could manage the words, she spoke, her face back towards her strider as she fiddled with his mane to distract herself. "My husband," sorrow laced her words, "Shahar." She barely squeezed his name out past her lips, tension tightening her form. She couldn't speak around the tightness of her throat. Raids, captured she finished only in sign.

[Jasmine Stormblood]

Jasmine mounted up when she agreed to let the young hunter come with her. She motioned for Naiya to lead the way, though her stiff body made it clear something was wrong. Her eyes widened hearing the name of the one person she hadn't wanted. Shahar. So he truly had been captured after all. A part of her knew that her hunting partner and to her a friend had been missing for far too long with a family to support.

"I truly am sorry Naiya. I knew he was missing, but I would have never imagined. Is there anything I can help you do to find him?" Jasmine asked and steered Chaser a little closer to speak with the woman properly.

Jasmine wanted to find Shahar very badly. To bring him home to her and the others of their pavilion. A pavilion without an ankal in almost certainly doomed to fail or die out. The blonde had hunted with Shahar several seasons though they were not consecutive. She was indebted to him for putting up with her inexperience.

"Why don't we head out and start checking your traps. Anything left too long will be scavenged by some of the predators out here," Jasmine said attempting to get the woman's mind off her grief, "oh before I forget yes I work with animals often. I have had the most experience with horses, but I am currently work with Tomma to learn about caring for the other animals as well."

[Naiya]

She shook her head as if to shake away her longing for her husband. Straightening her back and shoulders, she was once more a proper Drykas, although a deep sorrow remained a shadow in her posture. "There is nothing to be done but wait for his return." She said firmly, "Until then the best I can do is take care of his pavilion, our family, as best that I can."

The woman moved closer, her horse easing in towards them and Naiya offered the woman comfort, reassurance "My sister and I will manage as best we can until he returns."

Traps were an easier subject, she asked Wildfire for a bigger walk, loosening her hips to accommodate the gait. "I set the traps overnight, with any luck there will be another rabbit." She scanned the ground as they moved, seeking the tracks of prey. If they were going to hunt, it was time to start looking for animals.

"I have imperial watchers, little more than puppies, but they need training. Unfortunately I don't know a thing about training the dogs. Perhaps you could help me? I could pay you for your work. Not to mention the herd of skittish cattle I house. The auction went well for my family, but the creatures have been a handful."

She turned her head, asking Wildfire to move towards the section of thick brush ahead. Here, Naiya signed, "A trap."

She swung down from her horse, the motion setting the world askew for ticks longer than normal. She patted Wildfire's neck to cover her moment of weakness, then turned to find the trap. A small squirrel fought the rope, caught, but too young.

"I saw this," Naiya began, gesturing to the slightly larger gap in the brush at the base, "I thought it might be worth setting a snare." She had to drag the squirrel out of the brush by gripping the rope and pulling. A bite on her hand told her he was well enough to release, not stuck so long as to lose strength, all the same she offered the small creature to Jasmine, perhaps the woman would have use for it that Naiya did not.