A Hunting We Shall Go (open to all Endals)

[Shayth]

The Soaring Arrow :

Description: A breathtaking and spacious cavern, the Soaring Arrow is an Endal only Archery range. Due to Wind Reach's reliance on the hunters' success during real life hunts the Valintar makes sure to maintain their training facility to the highest of standards. During their stay, patrons are pampered, encouraging future visits.

On the far wall, there are targets, regular bulls eye to realistic animal models, as far as the eye can see. There are even a couple targets, about the size of a head, that are mechanically rigged to move around randomly or in a pattern, these targets are always in high demand. To prevent backlog there is a head high stone wall, maintained by city reimancers, between every five targets so that archers don't have to wait for everyone in the range to finish shooting before retrieving their arrows. When all the archers in a section finish their set, a team of three to five of the range's deks will run and retrieve all the arrows for the Endals. Not only do they fetch shot arrows, the Dek can also be ordered to fetch new arrows, for free, for the Endals.

Opposite of the target wall off shoots several smaller caverns. In one sits the one or more Fletcher and Bower Avora, in the range's official repair room. Endals can leave their broken bows to be checked or restrung with the Avora and pick it up in at most a day. In another cave lies the best made stock of archery supplies, from arm guards to quivers. It is to make restocking easier for the Endals. Instead of forcing them to search for individual Avora's to fill their orders, they can just grab what they need or want from the general stock at the range.

The Soaring Arrow runs 24 bells a day, 91 days a season (92 in the winter). It is one of the number one Endal hang outs, acting as a members only club.

One of the most appealing features of the Soaring Arrow is its well furnished Sky Hunter room, where Endals can come to relax before or after a training session. The tastefully perfumed room has a plethora of comfortable chairs to lounge about in. The walls are decorated with stunning glass ornaments that scatter the dim lamp light into an ethereal rainbow, that make the patrons feel as if they've been transported to a heavenly plain. A handful of Deks are always at the ready to fetch or do the Endals' bidding. But the most attractive feature of the Sky Hunter room is the cool blue, clear running, stream at the far wall, where patrons can refresh after a hard workout.

15th Day of Summer, mid morning

Entering the archery range, Shayth stood with her bow in one hand and blue eyes scouring the room. Little did she use the Soaring Arrow, more often then not hiding away on the Sanikas range to better practice in privacy - or of late with Kovac. But since their discussion a few days prior, the rider realized there was only one way she was going to be able to organize a real hunt with other endals. To actually come and seek them out.

Walking through the range, her eyes picked up various dek scooting through the great cavern picking up fallen arrows and stocking other archers with new ones. It was a bustle of activity, and the sound of constant bow strings echoed around her. Moving futher still, the redhead noticed the moving targets, favored by her ilk it seemed. A small smile raised to her lips, that would be fun. Taking her time to wander around the place, Shayth finally found the Sky Hunter room. A beautiful oasis with soft seats, fresh water and a good communal environment.

Turning around, Shayth noticed the firing wall and decided up on her actions. Taking up a spot along the wall, the endal drew an arrow and nocked her weapon. Holding her stance steady, the rider fired. It flew well, landing firmly in the straw padded wall, slightly off centre but not completely away. Taking up another, she fired again.

[Fois]

His eyes were following it. From left to right, then to the far left again. The monotonous movement seemed to be inviting and mocking at the same time. But this couldn’t bother him. He could not allow himself to be bothered by it. By the trivial and unrelated thoughts that were invading his mind. He had to stay focused. All the way to the right, a turn, and back to the left it went… It was slow. Nowhere to rush, nowhere to escape. Just left and right, left and right, again and again, forever. He watched never ending journey with more interest than such repetitive show would have required, but he had his reasons to be so involved. It escaped his eyes only for a very brief moment when he glanced at his arm. It was locked straight and firm, except for a one short fit of trembling from the strain. ’Relax. Don’t go numb, but just relax. It is all so simple.’ His eyes were on it again. Yet another turn at the left end before the trip down to the right began… By now he had seen it enough. He knew everything he needed. He quickly looked at the metal tip pointing towards the wall and was reassured that it was set right. It wasn’t hot in there, but he almost expected a drop of sweat roll down his left cheek and into his hand. The hand was warm, though. He could feel it. ’Relax. Calm and focused… Calm and focused…’ Three fingers of the left hand were starting to get uncomfortable. But not for long. Soon. It was coming close to where he wanted it to be. Where he was waiting for it. Just a few more breaths… One more… Now! He relaxed his left hand’s fingers releasing the metal tip along with the whole shaft that soared through the air across the room. The string was no longer strained, his fingers no longer uncomfortable and his right arm now completely relaxed, almost falling numb for a moment. He watched the arrow fly towards it. Too soon! The arrow flew by and got stuck in the wall just a trice before the target got in its way. One more breath and he would’ve got it. But now was not the time to give up. The moment he saw that the arrow would miss the target, Fois quickly reached back and pulled another one out of the quiver, which was hanging over his shoulder, with two of his fingers. He knocked the arrow hastily, setting it hardly on the centre of the string. He was resting the arrow on the shelf of the bow, pulling back the string and aiming simultaneously. The Endal hoped that he had got back in the precisely same position as moments ago so that now the target would be right in front of him. Without having the time to check if it was the case, he released the arrow. Obviously with such hurried preparation he needed twice if not triple the amount of luck than he had skill to come even close to hitting, so while the first arrow had hit the wall respectfully near the moving target, this one ended up embarrassingly far away from it, so that it was hard to tell what the shooter was aiming for at all. Fois cursed at first when he had hit it so wide, but moments latter smiled at himself and laughed quietly. He shouldn’t be taking this practice so seriously. And even more importantly, there was no rush. If it was some sort of personal pride that he was trying to save with the second shot, then he had failed miserably. And that was a bit amusing to him. ’Relax. Calm and focused, you idiot,’ Fois thought still with a smile. Another arrow knocked in his bow. Eyes set again on the target. It turned at the far right side and began moving back to the left…

[Sira]

Two arrows stuck out of her target at the end of the range and Sira was just pulling her third and final arrow from it's quiver. Five days had passed since the realization came that she was with child, and Sira had been restless ever since. She wanted adventure, but she didn't know if it would be safe for the baby. It was so early in her pregnancy, yet there were many things she still wanted to accomplish for the season. She was still hunting for Kragoth, and there were other tasks yet unfinished. But the healers had assured her she could continue functioning at normal atleast for the summer and most of the fall. Once she started to show and the baby was closer it would be important that she stayed in Wind Reach. But even with their assurances, Sira was nervous. Rather than hunting she instead found herself at the Soaring Arrow, private archery range of the Endal. She hated coming there, considering many of the Endal did not consider her to be one of them, but she was allowed and there was nothing they could do about it. As a Wind Eagle kelvic and a hunter for the city she had all the same privelages as an Endal, and perhaps even more, and was welcome anywhere they were. Sira knocked the arrow and slowly pulled back the string. She was going for accuracy, not for speed. Her previous shots had come near the center, but were not dead on. Sira took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling slowly, and straightened her back. She pulled back the string just a bit further and sighted down the arrow, the center of her target lining up perfectly with the tip. Sira took another deep breath and steadied her arm, and on the exhale she release. The twang of the string preceded the arrow as it zipped across the range and into the target, hitting with a thud. It still wasn't dead center, but it was the closest she had come all day. Sira lowered her bow, having run out of arrows, and unstrung it. She considered getting more arrows, but out of the corner of her eye she spotted a familiar face. Fois was lining up a shot on one of the moving targets, taking his time. He was doing the same thing she was, trying to be more accurate than fast. Sira walked up behind him, watching as he followed the target back and forth, back and forth. She saw him release and knew right away he was going to miss, but it was very close. He apparently knew as well because before the arrow even struck home he was preparing another shot. "Just imagine it's a big ugly wolf. Maybe that will help," Sira commented as she walked up next to her former rescuer. She and Fois had only met once before, but she felt that had been through enough together in those few short bells to justify interrupting his training. "How have you been, Fois?"

[Shayth]

Shayth continued to focus on her shots, allowing her quiver to empty before signalling to the nearest dek for retrival. As she waited, the endal looked around. There was a man, shooting arrows as the moving targets...with determination. If she was going to be asking around she needed to approach her kind. Taking the arrows from the dek, Shayth began to approach the same range as the man, slowing as he was joined by a young woman. She looked familiar, a face around the airee. But to place her was impossible.

Standing off to one side, the redhead nocked and arrow and aimed at one of the less active targets, waiting for her moment. It didn't seem right to just interupt the duo's conversation.

[Fois]

Breathing in, breathing out. The target was nearing his line of fire. ’Hurry not…’ Fois heard a female voice speaking to him, but instead of letting it distract him, he just briefly squinted at the direction of the sound before returning his eyes back on the target. ‘A female’ was all that he got from the short glance. The Endal let go of the bowstring setting free the arrow which made its way to the moving target and hit it with a reassuring thud. A smile of minor satisfaction appeared on his face. The arrow landed too far from centre to be a complete success, but this shot was still much better than the previous two. Still with the same smile he turned to the woman who spoke to him. Fois wasn’t sure why he was a bit surprised to see Sira, since as an Endal she had every reason to be there, though the two hadn't met after they both were nearly killed by that wolf. ”If I remember right, I missed that mutt as well,” he said with a slight chuckle. ”I’m doing fine, like an Endal in Wind Reach. This one,” he raised his left arm, ”still works, so it’s all good.” He glanced at the Endal who had moved from a range further away to the one he was in and was now concentrated on one of the targets, before returning his eyes on Sira. ”How about yourself? Nice to see you moving. No limbs left numb?” His face turned a little bit more serious. ”I’ve been around that place on a couple of hunts, but have seen neither the wolf nor the sorcerer that had poisoned you. That forest covers a large area though, not easy to find the same spot twice, even if they were waiting for us,” he shrugged at the end.

OOCI guess Shayth will have interrupt the two at some point, since she’s the girl with the plan. Unless Sira has something in mind.

[Sira]

Sira chuckled at the joke about her being numb. "Nope, I made a full recovery. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been out there." When Fois grew serious so did Sira. She nodded in agreement, knowing full well it would be difficult to find the spot or their attackers. She had tried many times, and while there were times she thought she might have found the place they were attacked she couldn't be sure. Rain and animal activity had long since erased any signs of their being there. "I've been searching for them too, but no sign. I don't doubt that they're out there though. I hurt the wizard's pride, and you the wolf's, and if it was my guess I would say they aren't willing to let that go. I know I wouldn't." Sira glanced over at Shayth when she approached, but the woman seemed to be preoccupied with her arrows. That or she was just shy. Sira couldn't be sure, but when the woman nocked an arrow and took aim Sira decided it was best to leave her alone. Fois had shared a life or death experience with her, it was one thing to interrupt him, but to interrupt someone else would just be rude. Unless she wanted to be talked to... in the end, Sira turned back to Fois and patted her belly, a grin on her face. "I hope we find them soon though. Wont be much longer and I'll be stuck in the mountain. Addy and I are having a baby." It was possible Fois already knew about her pregnancy, but even if he didn't he would have heard it soon enough. It wasn't at all a secret, and if Sira wasn't spreading the word Addy was doing it for her. After getting over the initial shock of discovering her pregnancy, both girls had become extremely excited. The only question that went unanswered was, who was the father? If either woman knew, they were keeping it to themselves. Most often the answer was, "No father. It's our baby." And if Fois asked, he'd hear pretty much that same thing. Sira glanced back over at Shayth, trying to remember where she had seen her before. Most likely it was just up in the sky, where she had seen most Endal, but there was some tidbit of information about this one she just couldn't remember. Something about someone else Sira knew. Did it have something to do with Addy? No.. not directly anyway, although Sira was fairly certain Addy may have pointed her out at some point. There was only one way to find out for sure. Sira waited until the woman had finished firing her next arrow, then approached. "Hello. I don't believe we've met, though I'm pretty sure I've seen you around. I'm Sira Aidara." Sira made a point to introduce herself formally, including the name of her rider. It was normal for an Endal to introduce themselves using their eagle's name as a surname when they wanted to be formal, and so Sira had taken to doing that with Addy's name as well. But this time she did it with a purpose, hoping to learn the name of the woman's eagle as well as her own. As with most Endal she met, Sira was more likely to know their eagle than she was the actual rider, having spent more time with the eagles than the people in her youth.

[Shayth]

Shayth lowered her bow, watching her arrow swing from the edge of a slow moving target. It was a small success that she actually hit it, and the rider couldn't help but smile. A voice beside her, addressed to her, gave the endal a slight start. Of course, she had approached the duo to start a conversation, but it happened so suddenly that Shayth didn't quite know how to answer.

Sira Aidara? Aidara?! It took a moment for the redhead to quell the sick feeling in her stomach. She knew that name. But Addy wasn't an eagle. Was it just irony that the rider's mount had the same name? Swallowing, Shayth nodded politely.

"Shayth Turiska, and I very much doubt we've met. I haven't been much of a...social person. Forgive me, but your mount's name is familiar. Is it a common name?" Glancing at the man beside her, Shayth offered a smile in greeting.

"You shoot well, very focused. I saw you earlier and came over to introduce myself, but you both seemed caught up. It felt inappropriate to intrude."

[Fois]

Fois listened to Sira’s conviction that the wizard and his wolf were still out there and nodded. He felt the same way. Whether it was reasonable to think that might be the case or he just wanted it to be so was beyond his thoughts. The Endal would have certainly been glad to meet that damned wolf and finish it off this time. Their previous fight was a humiliation and he needed to wash that uncomfortable feeling away. Upon hearing the news of Sira’s pregnancy Fois just raised his eyebrows a little in a slight surprise. He wasn’t the most observant person in Wind Reach, but he doubted that someone even with a keener eye than him would have noticed that at this stage. The way she mentioned that only Addy and her were having the baby made him doubt the knowledge he held of Zuvis for a brief moment. Clearly that must have been impossible. Whoever the father was, however, seemed to be not very important to Sira and so it was even less important to Fois. There was one thing, though, that made him curious about this pregnancy. ”Will the kid be like you?” It probably was obvious what the Endal meant by that question. He had always found her ability to be both, a person and a Wind Eagle, fascinating and slightly envied her. When Sira spoke to the other Endal, Fois smiled. He found her introduction a bit strange and amusing. Not by itself, but rather because of the image he got in his mind. Specifically, his Wind Eagle introducing himself as Seleer Fois. That would never happen but still the thought of it brought a smile to his face. ”Thanks, but that’s a lie,” he responded to Shayth still with the same smile. ”I think it’s only inappropriate to intrude when you don’t have a reason to. If there is something to say, then that’s perfectly fine, I suppose.” Fois shrugged at his own statement.

[Bloodsucker]

(Joining!)

[Sira]

Fois wanted to know if the kid was going to be a kelvic. Sira had wondered that herself, but she had no way of knowing. From what she knew, Kelvic children were only guaranteed if both the mother and father were kelvic. But Sira was fairly certain that Ayren was not a kelvic, so there really was no way of knowing. "I honestly don't know," she said, "Even if the child does turn out to be a kelvic like me, that doesn't necessarily mean it would be a wind eagle like I am. Or even a bird, for that matter... I won't know until it is born, I suppose." Sira was not familiar with the name Turiska. It was actually a bit surprising, but then again she didn't know every wind eagle out there. And if Shayth was anti-social, Turiska might be the same. However, the name Shayth was a bit familiar. Perhaps someone Addy had mentioned to her before? But Addy knew a lot of people and there was no way Sira could hope to keep track of every man or woman she talked about. Sira had to hold back the urge to laugh at Shayth's next comment. Although.. she supposed Addy could be called her mount some times... But of course, that wasn't what Shayth had meant. "No.. it's not a very common name. But then again, I'm not a common endal either." The fact that Shayth didn't recognize Sira's name was also a bit surprising. Among the Endal she was a bit of an infamous celebrity. But again, she didn't know everyone and not everyone knew her. "Addy isn't my mount, actually. I am her's. I'm a Wind Eagle Kelvic." And now she got to see if Shayth was just another racist Inarta, or if she could care less what Sira actually was. Fois, lucky for her, didn't care that she wasn't Inarta. Or at least if he did he didn't make a show of it. But so many out there hated her simply for being different. Sira had grown accustomed to it, but it would be nice to meet another that was not.