A Sunberthian Morning [Job Thread]

by **Firenze** on July 23rd, 2018, 4:25 am

Summer 65, 518 AV

Slowly buckling cold metal with rough leather, Fire tightened up her boots. Syna had risen and the rays brought a low light to the small room. Specs of dust danced and floated with the air movement stirred up by her morning tasks. Heels clacked against worn wood as she made her way over to the aged trunk at the foot of the bed. Lifting the unlocked clasps and raising the lid she shifted some items to the side to grab one of the dresses she’d purchased in Zeltiva.

The rays danced on her tanned naked skin as she turned to hold the dress up to the light. It filtered through the soft folds of fabric. Fond memories of a city by the sea, filled with almost innocent adventures, good friends and a heart that had slowly begun to heal. Sadness creased the corners of her eyes, a lip slowly turned down as the memory became tainted with the reminders of what happened after she’d left. Darker ugly thoughts trickled in and ruined the brief joy. Dropping the dress from where she’d held it, her gaze still straight, piercing through the dirt and grime smudged window.

A dark shadow passed by briefly as someone made their way down the street. With a turn of her head, blonde waves and curls following, she slipped the fine fabric up and over her head. Arms finding the holes perfectly made for them. It hung slightly loose around the waist, some weight loss due to the long trip from Endrykas. Placing a hand over the flat surface the soft white linen cloth now covered, her eyes peering down as it gave out a cry for sustenance.

”Alright then poor tummy, we’ll find you something. I won’t be able to guarantee how good or filling it will be… but it will be something.”

With a soft pat of reassurance, she flipped the lid of the trunk closed, securing the metal locks to ensure her items were safe, in case someone decided that her meager items could fetch them some mizas. Fingers wrapped around the heavy wool cloak that hung near the door. Fire flung it around her shoulders and secured it with her simple bronze cat brooch.

by **Firenze** on August 10th, 2018, 1:42 am

Tall weed brushed against the high boots as long legs swept them to the sides. It was a bright sunny morning, the last of the dew and fog burning off as the rays touched where they lay. The long dark cloak bent stems beneath its weight as it trailed behind. The sound of soft crunching leaves and earth were muffled by the height of the grass. An advantage that Fire noted as beneficial. The unfortunate side effect of being in human form was the vibrations of her feet hitting the ground and causing animals sensitive to such things to be forewarned.

Normally, she would hunt in a manner most comfortable to her but today she’d decided to take on the challenge of trying to gather food as human instead. A low growl from her abdominal region came the protest of her stomach wanting food in any form the quickest way possible.

Glancing up from the path she cut in the meadow on the southern edge of the city, she looked toward the rolling hills. There wasn’t much coverage, only a few trees gathered here and there among the grassy areas. Scanning the site not far from the Aquillar Springs she tried to formulate a plan. Squatting down, her bottom end resting on the heels of her feet she tried to survey from a different point of view; one that she was more used to.

What kind of animals would this place attract? Where would they hide? What would they eat?... Mulling the thoughts around, almost like one would do to a sweet wine to decipher the different flavors on their pallet, she took in the scenery. Near the trees in a small grove, a few fat doves cooed together, robins built nests in the high tops and all were out of reach unless she tried to climb. Huffing a small laugh, she knew that would be problematic in her current form.

Further investigating the area she spotted a small stream cutting a path through the grassy knolls. Rising to her feet she made her way over, observing the different types of vegetation that grew compared to what she’d just walked through. Just across there was a field sprinkled with an array of colors. Bright yellow flowers with long thick stalks waved gently with the breeze, their happy faces turned toward the sun. Spatterings of red and blue grouped together in their respective areas as if gathering to whisper gossips of ongoings to each other.

Enjoying the beauty of the reflections on the surface of the water, small congregations of fish swam against the gentle current. For a moment she wondered if she could reach out and dip a hand into the cool water to grab one up and stuff it into her mouth. Knowing that it could be a fool's task, she dared anyway.

Kneeling on the rough pebbles and rocks at the bank she pushed rough willows and rods to the side. Leaning over, her balanced felt… misplaced. Fire tried to reach a hand out, her knees rocking forward in her attempt to gather a few of the young fish in her grasp. Before her fingers could break the water's surface her body shifted too far. Grasping hard at the weeds nearby she held on as tight as she could to keep her whole self from taking an icy bath. Using the other hand she tried to reach back and grab another handful and use it to pull herself back onto her heels.

Sitting back with a huff and sigh of relief she gathered her wits for a moment, brushing a loose strand of hair back and tucking it behind her ear. She pondered on thoughts on how best to approach the situation. Obviously leaning over the stream was a bad idea. She didn’t have a fishers pole, like ones she’d seen so many times on the docks of Zeltiva. Slipping her feet up and underneath she tucked them in a crossed fashion, with her rear sitting on the ground and her blonde mane barely visible above the tall grasses. Firenze rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands as she scanned the clear water. Eyes watched the life that knew nothing of the predator sitting so close by.

A spear or trap of some sort would be handy right about now… she mused. Reaching back with one hand to her hip she pulled her small dagger. Running fingers along the flat side of the sharp edge she tried to figure out how to use what she’d brought. Would stabbing at the creatures cause even work? Sunlight flashed in the metal surface. It’s mirror-like finish giving a warbled reflection of her own face back at her. She wondered if she could try grabbing at the fish with a hand, perhaps even leaving it open while sliding it beneath the surface gently so that they might think that it was an alcove to hide?

Of the three options, she’d procured for herself while pondering she’d chose the latter, to begin with.

This time instead of kneeling she tucked her legs back around and lay flat on her belly. With underarms near the edge, she ever so slowly moved a cupped palm toward the water. She felt the coldness of it as it made its way up her palm. Gooseflesh prickled all along her body at the vast difference in temperature.

by **Firenze** on August 12th, 2018, 11:31 pm

Slowly dipping her hand beneath the surface the cold water crept along her skin. As she’d feared the little slick bodies darted and scattered under the clear surface. Holding her hand still she waited until her fingers numbed… and then waited some more. Tingling pricks started and made their way along the length of her arm until it completely fell asleep.

Pulling her other arm up she folded it and tucked her hand beneath her chin. Ever so slowly, the small fish began to come back to the spot they’d previously inhabited. She felt something brush against the back side of her fingers. With how numb they had become it was difficult to tell exactly what it was. Fire scooted her face a little further over the edge. It could potentially ruin the chance she just gained, her reflection or shadow scarring off the prey. But it was too tempting to want to see what the little creatures were doing. She wanted to know when she had one close enough for her to grab, considering her hand was officially numb from the chilly waters.

Peering over some of the fish darted back and forth rapidly as their view changed from blue sky to golden waves. Her eyes peered back at her from the waving reflection. Small little bodies darted around quickly. Some foolishly dared to get close to her hand and then would panic off in another direction. It almost seemed as though they were playing a game. A game of “who would touch the foreign object first.”

Slowly, their boldness grew, to Fire’s benefit. They must’ve figured her hand was shelter or food, as some sat nearby and other dared to try to nibble on her thumb and fingers. Her reaction was slowed because of the numbness, but in a bold move, she made to grab at a few that were sitting close to her palm. She yanked her hand back out of the water with a splash, the other fish darting off further down the stream. The other hand cupped over the first, quickly scrambling back to a sitting position, her legs tucked up underneath.

Slowly she moved the top hand and then peeled back the fingers to reveal a small wriggling body. Shoving it into her mouth her teeth crunched down on the spine as she chewed. A small smile crept on her lips as the slick little body slid down her throat.

by **Firenze** on August 13th, 2018, 12:12 am

After the excitement of catching her first wore off she realized that she wouldn’t be able to catch a fish in the same spot again. Looking out over the edge confirmed that all the fish that she’d managed to trick found new spots of hiding. The water only showing the rock on the bottom, stirred up dirt swirling and some greenery moving with the current.

Standing she brushed her clothing to remove dirt and debris that clung to her. A small area of flattened grass and weeds were in a blotted form of her body on the ground. Normally she didn’t like to leave a trace of where she’d been but there wasn’t much she could do to help the flattened plants stand again. Trudging off she moved further downstream.

Staying closer to the bank she followed its winding path. With a glance every now and again she would check to see if there were any fish that might be moving about that she could retry her efforts with. One fish wouldn’t sustain her long.

After a half bell or so, judging by the movement of the sun in the sky, she finally found another school. These were slightly larger but also seemed more skittish. As they began to panic as soon as she approached the edging of the bank when she checked the location.

Sitting down, repeating almost the same ritual as earlier, belly flat on the ground, lying close to the edge to watch the prey. This time she tucked both hands underneath her chin as she watched the larger fish dart back and forth. Her previous trick may not work this time… but there were still two other plans of attack she’d formulated earlier that she had yet to try.

First, she wanted to try quickly grabbing at one before she tried stabbing with the knife. Scooting further on her belly she leaned part of her upper half over the edge, holding herself with her hands braced on the same edge. The fish darted crazily. She knew that she’d have to act quickly because she wouldn’t be able to stabilize herself long, but she needed just long enough that some of the fish would come closer.

A few ticks passed and she felt sweat beading on her forward from the exertion. Her left arm had begun to shake slightly and it was now she had to strike or she’d end up head first in the drink. Eyes roved and tried to pick out one that was closest to her. Its scales glinting a rainbow of colors back at her, its body twice as large as the guppy she’d previously caught. A tongue darted between her lips in concentration. She kept her target in her sight. When she thought it was as close as she was going to get lucky with she darted the wobbly arm out, putting her weight on the other, who’s endurance was starting to fade fast.

With a resounding splash and all the fish scattering in every direction, she felt the slippery body in her palm. Digging in her knees she tried to pull herself back. Unfortunately, just as quickly as the body entered her grubby hand it jumped out, slapping against the surface and then darting off. Her supporting arm gave and her top half dumped her head into the water.

She’d been hot lying in the sun, but this was most definitely not the way she’d wanted to cool off.

Pushing her arms against the resistance of the current she steadied them underneath her and pushed her soaked mane up and out, raking in a deep breath of air. She coughed and sputtered out water from her lungs. A cry of frustration came as she hit the water with her fist. With her legs, she wiggled her body back onto land and the flopped over, her wet hair covering her face. She wiped it off best she could and stared at the sky.

It was her fault and she knew it. She’d waited too long. With a huff, she laughed a little at the situation. It was rather comical now, but her stomach was still angry with her. Pulling again at the wet blond mess she realized how hot her skin had become while lying in the sun. After having taken an involuntary dip in the cold water it seemed more appealing to bathe then try to catch another fish barehanded.

With a soft groan, she made her way to her feet. Dropping the half wet cloak onto the ground and peeling the soaked top off. The rest of the clothing came off and laid out around the cloak to dry. The heavier of the fabrics sank into the sea of grass while the other, lighter material sat gently on top. With her naked body exposed to the breeze gooseflesh once again made itself apparent.

It stuck around while she slowly dipped her toes into the creek. Knees came next until she carefully placed them on the smooth rock on the bottom. The water only came up a little over halfway up her thigh. It wasn’t very deep at all. But, even with the contact she had, it was still refreshingly cold.