A Big Day Ahead (Open)

by **Erzotol Silverden** on June 27th, 2011, 4:23 pm

A soft chuckle came from his lips as he watched the poor girl fall on her bum after a missed strike. The scene sparked a fond memory of his own training days with his sister and their similar mishaps, and he smiled at the woman moving closer to help her up. She got up herself before he could offer a helping hand, and seeing that she was ready to continue the spar, he leveled his shield towards her, preparing for whatever strike she chose to use against him next. The blade came swiftly from the side again, and he met it with complete contact to his shield completely along its length, and with a push, hoped to press the blade backwards and away from his person, the edge of the shield catching the cross piece of the longswords if Kaja followed through with the strike. The accompanying bang against his shield would get his adrenaline pumping even more, and his heart pacing faster. If the block had disoriented her enough he would try a special move by turning quickly around on his heel in a quick spin, extending his shield arm completely out to the side, and would complete the turn with the shield fighting only the air resistance, and if she had decided to attack him then, the shield would knock against the hilt of the longsword and with any luck knock it from her grasp without injuring her.

Disarming with a shield would be a hard move to complete though and if she continued to hold onto the sword, or his little spin move missed then he would immediately reset his shield, preparing for a follow up strike, and would cradle the buckler close to his chest in preparation for any strike that she might plan against him. If it did work then he would offer a smile and a pick up the sword for her if she already hadn't, speaking " Hope my shield didn't hurt you " he would offer to make sure that she would be alright, before stepping back and speaking in a kind voice again. " When you get too tired, feel free to end the spar " he would also add, knowing his endurance might be quite different then hers.

by **Kaja** on June 28th, 2011, 1:50 pm

The bang again set her back but she remained on her feet this time. She growled deep in her throat. Why couldn’t she be like these people strong and sure. Fighters, capable, protective, kind, and giving, well she was the later two, but the others? She could be pretty protective; in fact that she had more of then the first two actually. Her animal inside was very protective, friendly, playful, vicious but only when it came to hunting, protecting, and if she was very angry. However, she didn’t know how to do that in her human form, more in her animal form. In her human form she felt more vulnerable, insecure, and slightly out of her element. However, she was getting used to it she had been here for a while, and been more in her human form then animal form. So, her frustration at her current situation and that she was not doing as well as she would like coming out.

Again she snarled deep in her throat as she came at him with all her strength, frustration, and this time she like him did a spin too into her hit. She knew this was going to hurt, it was going to be so bone jarring when she hit that shield. However, for some reason she didn’t care, she was getting into this more physical, fighting type exercise. In her motion she also saw his motion and knew that even more when they came at each other they would feel it. It was too late now the momentum of the spin and swinging the sword up and around her head gave her a bit more strength that kept the sword up as it came at him again from the right side. However, he had a move of his own, one he knew from constant practice, and proper training and he raised and pushed the wooden buckler shield away from him banging it against the hilt of her weapon. Her eyes went wide as her whole arm trembled under the hit and the sword flew from her grip even with both hands. It was easier to let go then to try to hold onto it. Her arms burned now, and her hand felt numb from the trembling of the metal in her tight grip.

The sword went flying into the air and she turned her head to watch the shiny, spinning metal on its trajectory in the air. It arced and then started to fall down. She really couldn’t believe the height, and distance it got with its size and heaviness. It finally fell with a thud into the ground blade down into the dirt. It fell a few feet away from them but still in their arena they were in. She blinked at it as it quivered from the landing. Her body felt like an ox had ran into her at full speed. She felt wrung out, so weary. She turned to Erzotol, and whispered, “You disarmed me I suppose.” She looked at him a bit sheepishly. “I probably wasn’t any challenge for you since I really had no clue what I was doing.” She shrugged, and her legs literally gave out on her and she fell in a pretty graceful heap onto the ground looking up at him. “Wow, I guess I need to get a lot stronger if I am going to try to stay here. No, you didn’t hurt me much, I mean my body feels pretty worn, but it wasn’t really from you.”

by **Erzotol Silverden** on June 30th, 2011, 4:30 pm

The bluntness of her words elicited a hearty chuckle from deep within his chest, and his smile was wide and genuine. This woman surely did have forwardness about her, one that spoke of confidence and at the same time a hint of timidness. He let his shield arm droop down casually at his side as his eyes watched her with appreciation, and he could feel the weariness in his bone beginning to settle in, but not so quite overcoming him. With just a relaxation of his grip, the shield slid off of his arm to drop on the ground, and casually he glanced over at his blade he'd knocked from the woman’s grasp before dropping down to sit beside Kaja. They both seemed to be worn out, but the way she fell made him laugh good naturedly again, as he watched the ever surprising woman. " You did better than I would expect from a random sparring partner " he said with a smile, and extended his arm to pat her on the shoulder. She handled herself well enough, and gave him a good bit of practice with his shield working. That and coupled with the fact that she was becoming increasingly interesting to him made him smile all the warmer, and filled his chest with warmth.

" Its good to see that you are not hurt " he said with a smile, and he had hoped that his little move hadn't hurt her, this kind woman he found beside him. It was also good to know that the move wouldn't hurt anyone he sparred with in the future if he considered using it again, but Kaja appeared to be the more pressing matter at that moment so he filed the bit of knowledge back into his mind for later use when it became more relevant. " You are plenty strong as it is, and I have no doubt you will become stronger in the coming days " he said to her warmly, and leaned backwards to rest on his elbows for a bit. It had been quite the paced day, and he found himself tired already but not too tired to not try and finish his training later on during the night. His blade still felt unnatural in his grasp, and he wanted to practice his archery while riding his beloved horse as well before the day was up, but for now he would content himself with meal plans with Kaja. " Now I believe I owe you a meal " he said, looking across at her, and slowly he sat up, and pushed himself to his feet, slapping the dust off of his pants before extending a hand to help up Kaja. If she accepted or didn't, he would quickly jog over to his sword afterwards, and place in its sheath at his belt, and then grab up his shield and strap it across his back, along with his other supplies. After preparing himself he would extend his arm for Kaja to hold if she wished and would start on a trek through the city, making way for his tent, and where a fine meal could be made, or at least attempted to be made since he had no cooking skill what so ever. As soon as they arrived at his family’s pavilion, he would look towards Kaja with a smile, and make a broad sweeping gesture towards to large tent. " Welcome to my family’s pavilion, what do you hunger for? " he asked warmly.

by **Kaja** on July 1st, 2011, 3:21 am

Kaja watched as he dropped his shield with a hollow thud onto the ground. She blinked back up to him as he spoke to her of being fairly good. She doubted that, but he liked the compliment anyway, “Thank you…” She said softly looking down with a slight blush on her cheeks. He wasn’t the most handsome man, but he had a sort of rugged sexiness about him that she liked. When he sat next to her and patted her shoulder she responded back with taking her head and rubbing it into his shoulder and up his neck. It was what they did in pack when in their animal form. They were very affectionate touchy, sort of like the wolf too.

Her big hazel eyes looked at him as he spoke some more saying he was glad she was not hurt. She gave a little laugh and said, “I’m not as fragile as I look, and I grew up with nine boys. I was third two last so pretty babyish and only girl.” She blinked and looked a bit shocked. That had just rambled out and she hadn’t remembered that before, but now she knew it as fact. A smile bloomed on her face and she clapped her hands excitedly, hugging Erzotol enthusiastically. “I remembered!! I remembered something else from my past!!” That had been two pieces of her past she had remembered since coming here.

When he got up again, and gave his hand to her to help her up she gladly took it and watched as he picked up his equipment. Her large eyes took in as he sheathed his sword in its scabbard, and placed his shield on his back. Next he picked up his quiver of arrows, and slung it over his shoulder while he held his bow in the other hand and offer the other for her too take with her elbow. She was unused to such formalities but she liked them nonetheless. She smiled and walked toward his pavilion. He gave a semi tour as he went pointing out this and that. Kaja nodded her head, and watched carefully, hoping that her memory was getting better with the extra use of her mind lately.

They reached his tent and she looked around. It was the first time she had ever been in one of the Drykas’ tent, she stayed in one of the inns they made up for traders and other people stopping through the moving city. “It’s nice.” She said, and then cocked her head, not knowing what to say. She would be happy with anything really. While she had been traveling to get here she had ate a lot of food she had caught herself raw mostly. “Ummm… Whatever you have available as long as it is meat, and preferably not cooked too much….” She blushed slightly and then blinked. “I could catch us some food if you like.” She smiled wanting to do more for him to earn whatever time she had with him. Of course he wouldn’t know that was what she was thinking, or that she had to keep doing things to be with him.

by **Erzotol Silverden** on July 5th, 2011, 2:39 am

" I have a loaf of bread and some jerked beef if that’s fine by you " he said, walking over to the corner of his family’s tent, and setting down his pack. He would need to go hunting in the morning, or else buy some more food in the market because he was running out of food, and this would be the last of his rations. " On second thought, fresh meat is always better for honored guests " he said, standing up from his pack, and looking around. Yes, a hunt would do him some good, and the added benefit of it would be to his weaponry skill, and that brought a smile to his face. Oh yes, can kill two birds with one stone with this one he mused and looked over at Kaja. " How bout it?" he asked, and if she agreed he would restring his bow, and loop it over his shoulder. He hoped that she wouldn't be too tired for the hunt, but she could always just hold onto him while they rode on to look for game. Hopefully she had some experience riding with horses, because he would be riding hard, and attempting to work his own riding skill. Perhaps this day isn't quite over as thought was another thought that came to mind, and he began to walk towards the front of the tent.

Airiat waited outside for him, pawing on the ground, and chomping on some of the nearby grass. Reaching out his hand, he stroked the short hair that ran along the horse’s neck, and ran his fingers through his soft mane. " Ready for a ride " he asked softly, patting the side of his neck lovingly before strapping on his yvas with a good deal of care. He hadn't ridden Airiat in a day or so, so it would be pleasant riding him out today. Nothing was better than riding out on the grass with his strider, and he found it quite relaxing. Placing his foot on the stirrup on the left of the horse, he hoisted himself up, and shifted his weight to swing around to the other side of the steed, and balancing his weight. It felt so natural to him. " Would you like to ride with me? " he asked Kaja, sitting easily on top of his horse, and running his fingers through his hair. If she said yes he would extend his hand and help her up, if she said no then he would wait to hear her alternatives.

by **Kaja** on July 5th, 2011, 5:01 pm

He seemed to like her idea and she watched as he moved out of the tent again. She smiled to herself taking off her top, and simple leather skirt both not really covering much, but enough to have her not be indecent from walking around naked. She wouldn’t care either way, it would make her life much easier, but it seemed others thought it differently. While he was mounting his horse, she finished getting out of her clothes and shimmered into her dog form. She yipped in response to his how about it, and jogged out of the tent to meet him. She looked up at him on his horse now, and blinked as he asked if she wanted to ride with him. She would very much like to ride with him, and maybe some other time when she didn’t have hunting in mind she would take him up on riding with him on his horse. She had never done that before.

She yipped again, and ran off ahead of him. The speed of her lean long legs beating a path ahead, as her tongue came out to loll at the side of her face. She was ready for a good hunt. It felt good to be in her animal form again, to stretch her legs and just run with the wind in her fur, and the dirt being kicked up by the speed of her paws hitting it. She yipped again, and looked behind her to see if he was coming. Maybe she could prove her worth by her hunting skill to him, as so far she hadn’t thought she made too great an impression on him, like most the humans here she seemed to be showing more her weaknesses then her strength. Except, of course those she had done things for and shifted into her dog form to do it like now. She really did need to get better in her human form.

She sat down to have him catch up; she knew it wouldn’t take long. She had seen some of these horses move and they were swift and sure. When he would catch up to her she would take off again. She hadn’t really paid too much attention to the smells around her, she had got used to them. However, she had smelled a slight odor of some other dog species around her what she didn’t know, however, her particular breed of dog used there eyes more then their nose for most things. So, she didn’t smell or recognize just how close this other animal was.

by **Erzotol Silverden** on July 7th, 2011, 2:42 am

A surprise greeted him as he looked to see a odd dog coming out of the tent after him, and after a moment or two staring, he assumed it had to have been Kaja. I didn't know she was a kelvic he mused with a smile, and he found it rather odd that he had met two kelvics not so far apart but he chalked it up to chance, and steered his horse gently around with a tug on its reign’s and he locked outwards to see that Kaja, some breed of dog he had never heard of, had covered so much ground so fast. Wonder how she might fare against Laeon he thought with another amused smile, and almost as if on cue, the white fox popped its head from out of his back pack, and licked his cheek. Looking over slightly, he scratched the fox behind the ears for a moment before picking him up out of the pack, and leaning down close to the ground so he could hop down on the ground. " Go join Kaja boy, you two lead the way to some good game " he said with a smile, and watched as a white blur zoomed across the space, Laeon coming to a stop beside Kaja and looking up at her expectantly.

Sniffing the air, and placing a tiny paw on her leg, Laeon looked up at her expectantly, yawning dramatically, and nuzzling against her fur for a moment before looking back at her. " Your new. We go hunting now? You smell nice. How do you know my master? Master wants us to hunt now. You know hunting tactics too? Now we go " the little fox chirped rapidly before speeding off towards the outskirts of the moving city. Observing the interaction, Erzotol smiled but he had no idea what had transpired and with a gentle nudge sent his horse into a slow trot, and gradually increasing speed to a nice loping gallop. Laeon was far in front of him now, and he expected Kaja was too, and he hoped the two would work in tandem for it would be great if they got along good enough. He would let Kaja, and Laeon assume the lead for now so they could take him to where they had the best chance for fresh food, but still kept close enough to the city that it was safe. Hunching over slightly and holding on to the leather straps of the yvas, and he rested his head next to the horse as he picked up pace, getting even faster by drawing energy up from the web into his strong legs. Yes, tonight would be a good hunt

by **Kaja** on July 7th, 2011, 3:16 am

Kaja was sitting not to far away when she saw a white something darts out of Erzotols’s sack. She blinked as the white blur skidded to a stop in front of her affectionately nuzzle her and then rapid fire some questions at her in a hyper fashion. She blinked, and before she could greet him back with her own nuzzle on what looked like the softest fur ever or even reply to his questions he was off. She sat there blinking for half a second wondering if what just happened, happened. She then tore off after the young male fox, and soon caught up to him as she was just as fast as him. “I am new here. I just got here, and yes I wanted to…” She paused here as if in her human form she would have said ummm. “…Hunt for your … master… But I suppose that is what you do right?”

She kept up with him pretty well as she yipped twittered and whined at him in conversation. She felt sort of good to be running in tandem with another dog breed hunting. However, she was unsure if she liked it in the current situation. How was she supposed to make herself seem useful to Erzotol if she couldn’t even hunt for him. She knew he didn’t have any animals for her to herd, or maybe he did? “We met just a bit ago. We fought.” She said as her eyes scanned for any game around. Her hunting form might be a bit different then the young foxes as instead of using her nose to sniff out prey she used her eyes, and most of her skill with hunting was with her speed and endurance in a chase rather then sneaking up on his prey to tackle them. She looked at her companion and wondered how good he was, as she did smell that he was a male fox.

Eventually between his nose and her eyes they found some game. However, while she took off after the animal and chased it down finally pouncing on it and biting at its rump. However, the beast was slightly bigger and she was assuming that she would be getting some help from the little fox, but lack of communication in the end left her without her prey. She looked back at the fox, and he had a large fowl sticking out of his mouth. She hung her head, and was shown that she wasn’t as good a hunter as she thought she was against this tiny ball of white fluff. She growled a bit in her throat but as she approached the white fox she lost the attitude. “Nice catch, I should have communicated to you better….” She looked up to see Erzotol galloping up to them now and she whined pitifully as he had meat in his mouth while she didn’t. She would do better. She ran off again.

by **Erzotol Silverden** on July 7th, 2011, 4:00 pm

The wind was cool and crisp even as the light outside had begun to fade, and as the white fox, and Kaja diverged path's, Erzotol rode swiftly from behind, his bow firmly in his hands, a arrow notched and ready. Kaja had apparently caught sight of a larger target, something he could only barely make out in the distance, but his strider, Airiat covered ground fast, and soon he could see that it indeed was a rather large deer that populated the grasslands, or some other mammal that he didn't know the name off. Laeon, on his own branching path, had begun chasing a fattened pheasant that didn't notice him till it was too late, and he watched as his fox broke the bird’s neck, and remained in a sitting position with the bird in his mouth, just as he had been trained to do. The white fox would look up at the approaching kelvic excitedly, but wouldn't respond back for fear of dropping its catch, but would paw the ground as his own sign for her to stand still as he thought the hunt was over. As Kaja ran off, the fox cocked it's head sideways curiously, but remained where it was till his master relieved him of his prize.

The woman, who now he knew was a kelvic, had less luck in her venture, the prey simply being too big for her to catch on her own, and pulling his string back till it was taut, he sighted down his arrow, determined on following Kaja who had broke off again after prey, and this time with him gaining speed with every stride, Erzotol would help her with the kill. He held himself balanced astride the horse, holding onto its body with his thighs, and himself straight by leaning forward against it slightly. His aim with his bow jerked every once in a while, he was not that great at riding yet, and he hoped that Kaja would be able to bring something his way soon, or he would have to abandon his bow all together or risk getting thrown off his strider, and tasting the dirt. Still he kept his concentration on the land ahead, keeping Kaja to his right side, and in front of himself, and in the distance he could see that very same deer, or at least it looked like the same one, and aiming way out to the left, his sights bobbing up and down wildly, he hoped that Kaja might get some ground on the beast and chase it his way so he could see his arrow find a home.

by **Kaja** on July 7th, 2011, 10:25 pm

The fox was sitting pretty with his prize in his mouth, and Kaja had nothing she felt utterly useless. She didn’t understand what the little fox was signaling to her, but all she could see was once again she had failed. She scurried off again not knowing that the fox was trying to tell her that the bunt was over. She figured it would go on until they found enough food for a little while. She saw the same deer; it was now wounded so maybe she could try again? She gave chase picking up speed fast nothing was keeping her from making this kill. She wouldn’t let it slip past her again. She did it once already and possibly right in front of Ezotol, she wouldn’t embarrass herself again. She knew that when in a pack nothing got past her species, but being just one it was harder to down the larger animals, and the deer she was trying to down was more then impossible for her to do, yet she was still trying for it. More then likely to show off, or prove she was better then the little fox. Not because she was mean, but because she wanted to try to make herself useless to this man.

Concentrating on what she was doing she didn’t notice Erzotol by her side a few feet away. She was just trying to catch up to, overtake, and down the young doe. She zigged and zagged along with the fleeing animal, and it turned in an angle that unbeknownst to the young Kelvic was right into the human’s sight with his bow at the ready. She ran the young deer right into the proper position for him to make a shot. She heard the zing, and knew that sound, the last time she heard that sound she had been injured and she stopped letting the deer go she watched the deer get further and further away from her as she watched an arrow come flying and hit it right into the death spot and the animal fall to the ground. She blinked her eyes not believing it again she had not got her prey. True she did help in a way for him to get a shot, but she herself did not do it herself. The fox had done it without any help, and while her catch while not done by her was more meat to her it didn’t make her skilled, or seem able to do hunting for herself.

The young Kelvic had a mild doggie temper tantrum at that moment. She bounced on her front paws, twittered, whined, and pretty much mad a scene of it all throwing her head away, probably if Erzotol could understand what she was saying it would be the equivalent of doggie cussing for the normal human. However, he might see it as her having a fit, or having been hurt by something stung by a bee, plagued by some insect. Once she got her frustration out she once again scanned the horizon, she was going to catch something, and it was going to be on her own. Her excellent eyesight spotted something wrestling in the undergrowth she hoped that it was something that wasn’t too big, or possibly a snake or something else that might hurt her bad. She took off once again. Now Erzotol had both his fox he had to retrieve something from and the deer, maybe now she could do something on her own, or at least that was her simple thought for the moment. She ran in the direction of the movement and was surprised to find a young Javelina that had been separated from their group not a full adult yet but still big enough that it looked like it was going to be good for eating, and not too big that she wouldn’t be able to take it herself. She took chase surprising it as she ran after it. The young pig took run squealing all the way, hoping it would alert some of his or her other group mates.

It didn’t take long as she zigged and zagged with the fleeing plump porker that it got tired slowing down enabling her to pounce on it and give it the finishing blow with her strong, crushing jaws. She broke its thick neck and came out finally with her prize. She drug it between her front feet wobbling as she went until she once again was with Erzotol who wasn’t too far away. She did a doggie version of a smile around the carcass in her mouth, and tried to yip with the mouthful though it was very muffled. She dropped her prize in front of him and panted, her stomach going very fast as she had expended a lot of energy with that last chase on top of the two others. She looked up at him in a dreamy fashion finally feeling satisfied that she brought in something for herself too.