Completed Looking for warmth

[Alexandra Gainsborough]

72th of Winter 521 AV "Its odd to be back here, to a place where I actually feel some kind of peace." These words spoken in her native tongue felt odd leaving her beak. Syka was one of the most dangerous places she had ever traveled to and yet it was where she finally found calm. She had fond memories of other places, Alvadas being the most notable but no place was Syka. Bundled up in her warmest cloths she strolled down the beach gathering driftwood into a pile next to a few of her belongings. She made sure to stay close to civilization, want wanting to become a meal for some beast within the woods. A soft smile crosses her lips when she saw a log about half her size. "That should work" the little inarta said softly. Her pace picked up as she rushed to it. Her heels digging into the sand causing her to almost lose her balance but she didn't seem to care. Falling forward, she wrapped her arms around the large dead stump of driftwood. She began to giggle for a moment just like a child might when they got a new doll. Childlike glee was soon replaced with determination and with that she gave it a tug. The log wiggled a bit before rocking back into its resting place. She let go and took a step back pleased that it moved at all. Taking a few more steps back she studied, then walked a circle around it before finding what she thought was the best plan for attack. Rushing forward Alexandra grabbed one of the roots and leaned back using her bodyweight to move the stump. It rocked with her but as she adjusted her grip it rocked back into place. Trying again this time she reached in and flung her body rearward with all of her might. The mass of wood rolled back with her out of its resting place and onto flat sand. Scooting back a few inches she would thrust her weight backwards again and again until the stump was a few feet from its last resting place. She let go and fell back onto the cold sand. Quickly she returned to her feet and looked at the damp beach behind her. "Stupid winter!" Had this been summer the slightly damp sand may have been welcomed but not this time. She proceeded to dust off her rear and return her gaze back to the colossal task at hand. WC: 412

[Alexandra Gainsborough]

With both hands she grabbed whatever she could get a grip on and lifted one end of the stump. She boots sank into the soft sand. All she needed was a few inches to make this work and with that she began her slow walk backwards. Each step dug her boots into the sand making this a very laborious task but she was stubborn. Again using her body weight she flung everything she had backwards with each step. The stump would move a few inches just before she took another step and repeated the process. After about 10 feet she drops the log and let's out a sigh. This was going to take some time. Rolling the log, even with it's odd shape might be a good idea. On the other hand it's so narrow on one side that she would just be pushing it in a circle. With that though she goes back into the position, grabs a handfuls of stump and begins to pull once again. The work is fairly slow going but her persistence would pay off eventually. By the time she finished she was exhausted but satisfied with what she had accomplished. Now would be a good time to catch her breath, so she slumped against the log and closed her eyes for just a moment. Filling her lungs with the cool air would sting but with some long deep breaths maybe she would be able to shake this feeling. Not more then 10 minutes would go by before she was back at it again splitting the pieces of wood she has collected. The wood was dry and split easily into smaller stick and bits of kindling, it would not take her long to have a decent enough pile. Pleased with the pile she turned stood back up and looked back at the sand. Perplexed for a moment she realized that there was nothing she could work with here. Normally she would grab some tree bark or dry grass but here on the beach there was nothing of the sort. Eyes rolling she let out a soft sigh and bit her lip. What oh what could she use as tinder. She turned and looked at her back, all the contents spilled on the ground. Kneeling down she turned her bag inside out and scooped up little bits of cotton, lint that had gotten stuck from previously packed items. Turning to her note book and letting out a sigh she tore out a few pages and balled them up. "Well I guess this is better then nothing. Its not like I am going to be filling these pages any time soon." She hoped to find someone who could show her a little more about the plants in the area and for a moment she felt somewhat helpless in this environment. The jungle was so different from the forests she grew up near. Blinking a few times she tucked her flint and steel into her pocket and stepped back to her kindling. WC: 504

[Alexandra Gainsborough]

Sitting on her heels she placed the bits of tinder around the kindling and closed her eyes for a moment. Taking the flint and steel out of her pocket she slipped the steel clip over her knuckles. "Priskil, Thank you for the light of day and the warmth of the flame. Please allow me the gift of fire so that I may bask in its warmth and light." Alex strikes the steel against the flint several times before opening her eyes. Scooting forward she took a deep breath, slowly the air filled her lungs lingering for just a moment before quickly exiting. She struck the flint a few times times showering the tinder with sparks. Slowly smoke began to float from the pile of paper, cotton and sticks and Alex took a shallow breath before softly blowing on the pile. The pile would glow softly orange and with a little more attention a small flame began to dance on the paper. "Thank you Priskil. May winter pass swiftly." Soon even the largest stump of driftwood caught fire and Alexandra had to step back from the intense heat. For a while she did nothing more then sit and tend to the fire. The flame was mesmerizing, the way it danced and moved, the bright colors, the crackling sounds all brought such quiet to her soul. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and just let the thoughts drift in and out of her mind. She thought mostly of the past but didn't allow any one thought to linger to long. She silenced each and just basked in the warmth of the flame. She pictured a candle with a blue flame in her minds eye, Darkness all around it. The flame flickered dwindling when she released her breath and would swell as breath would draw in. Minutes felt like seconds and soon she would open her eyes again. A few more moments would pass before she got to her feet then a few more before she leisurely stepped back to her pack. Bending down she picked up her quiver and removed a single arrow from it before slinging the rest over her shoulder. From the fire she began to walking, following her previous path. A soft smile crossed her lips when she took note of how much deeper her boots were digging into the sand while he hauled that stump over to her fire, the thought just now crossing her mind that she could have probably left it in place. The arrow in hand was well made with crimson fletching an a sharp pointed end for hunting smaller game. She played with the arrow twirling it around with her fingertips for about 100 steps before throwing it into the sand in front of her. She dropped to her knees and straightened out the arrow building a small mound of sand around it. With the red fletching pointing back up to the sky she turned and headed back to the now roaring fire. With some determination and mild excitement she rushed back to the fire at a much quicker pace then she had before. Almost skidding to a stop she reached down and grabbed her trusty short bow. With her back to the now distant arrow she nocked another and quickly spin around drawing back the string and firing in one fluid motion. The arrow went flying forward undershooting the target by nearly 40 feet and half that distance to the right. Chuckling to herself. "Well I guess I need a bit more practice." WC: 592 T: 1508

[Alexandra Gainsborough]

Reaching back she pull another arrow from the quiver and nocked it before drawing the string back. taking in a breath, a second then a third she waited until she was at the top of her breath and released the arrow. It zipped forward overshooting the target by several feet. Avora were much to specialized to divide their attention into a second skills especially at her age. Maybe if she had become an expert but many would choose to master a skill and dedicate themselves to helping the greater community as a whole. Thinking about all of this was just another unneeded distraction from the task at hand and she shook her head cleaning her mind of the things, the what could have been. "Freedom feels so much better then what would have been. I choose now." she muttered nocking another arrow. She fired another arrow watching it zip forward to meet the others. This one fell fairly short of the target and this time was off to the left. She arched her back looking up at the sky for a moment before checking her stance. She shifted her left foot back an inch and tried to position her body as she was taught stiffening up every part of her body. Each of her next movements forced and very deliberate as she reached back and took another arrow. Drawing the string back she gently touched her thumb to her nose before pulling her hand back next to her cheek. She counted her breathing cycles again and at the peak of the third one she released the arrow. It flew almost sideways whipping back and forth in the air until it hit the sand about 20 feet in from of her. She let out a string of expletive's in Nari and grabbed her forearm. Her stiff movements lead to the string to snap back into her arm, from here it slid down the length of her arm returning to its at rest position. Because of this her fist tightened down so hard around the bow her knuckles turned white. She stomped her feet, turned around and eventually threw the bow onto the sand. After she finished going over her entire list of expletives' a few times she stomped off towards the already fired arrows. Fire burning in her eyes and heels digging in with each step she plucked he arrows one at a time off the the ground leaving the initial target. Stomping all the way back to her mark she contemplated chucking the handful into the fire. However knowing how valuable they were she couldn't bring herself to it. With practice they could put food in her belly and maybe keep her from becoming food for another beast. "Your lucky I need you." She yelled out to the bow throwing the arrows in its direction. Turning back to the fire she dropped down onto her knees and sat on her heels again. Pouting for a moment she said under her breath "Stupid things." WC:503 T: 2011

[Alexandra Gainsborough]

As the pain in her arm subsided her motivation to sulk diminished as well. She got back up on her feet and brushed the sand off of her legs. "I'm not going to get any better if I just sit here." Gingerly she stepped away from the roaring fire rubbing her forearm stopping in front of her bow and arrow. Crouching down she picked up the arrows and tucked them gently back into the quiver before picking up the bow. "I hope that I can one day weild you as well as whoever owned you before." Pushing off on her knees she stands back up and goes back to her mark. Once again taking a deep breath and drawing an arrow form her quiver. She checks her feet and the adjusts then again before nocking an arrow. Just as before she pulls the string back to her nose and let's go. The arrow goes flying forward overshooting the mark by about 5 feet and a bit off to the right. "Better." She says trying again. Starting from step one she checks and adjusts her stance trying to find perfect. Another arrow flying forward this time short and to the left. This process repeats again and again until a total of 10 arrows are scattered around. Some fell short, others overshot the target, a few were off to the left while others to the right but the group was better then it had been. She was starting to get a feel for distance and to judge range. She new that getting comfortable with her weapon was the only way she would learn to master it. Just like any other task knowing how to properly use your tools was a key step in getting better. With 10 arrows remaining she headed back down the beach grateful to give her arm and fingers a little break. It was nice to have a moment to reflect on how much harder it was to keep the bow from wondering as she held the string. Keeping that time as short as she was able would be key in the future. Building up a little. Ore muscle would help this as well. Stopping for a moment at her target arrow she looked at the others scattered around. When doing well the arrows were fairly well grouped but as she got tired or held an arrow ready for to long accuracy really suffered. She pulled the arrow from the little sand pile she had originally formed around it then walked over to each doing her best to pick them up in the ordered they were fired, at least the best she could remember. "I'm going to need to try and make time for this." Grabbing the last arrow and tucking it safely away with the others. She walked back and packed up the rest of her belongings before taking a seat in front of the fire once more. It felt good to just bask in the warmth. "I think I'll stay a while." Wc:505 T:2516

[Gossamer]

Alexandra-

Body Building +2, Wilderness Survival +1, Short Bow +3, Psychology +1

Body Building: Brute Force Dislodging A Huge Stump, Body Building: Dragging A Huge Stump, Body Building: Splitting Wood, Wilderness Survival: Building A Fire, Short Bow: Target Practicing, Short Bow: Adjusting One’s Aim Based On An Arrow’s Flight, Psychology: Talking Oneself Into Practicing Something One Dislikes.

Note: Nice thread! It was a fun read. Let me know if I missed anything.