The Jungle Within

[Shari]

OOC BitHey Cay! I really just wanted to start a thread and leave it completely up to you as to what I get into! Either training (poison, unarmed combat, tracking, animal husbandry, etc or maybe something spiritual or something completely different... It's all up to you!

The 51st day of Winter, in the year 509 AV...
The Jungle Wilds, Outside Taloba


The day was young and full of potential. Deciding to escape Taloba and the current city life for a day, Shari brought only her calm demeanor and open mind. She had no particular goal and nothing pressing to accomplish, but the Myrian felt certain she would find something. Her gut told her that today would be a good day and her mind told her to be wary. Together, these somewhat conflicting thoughts left her eager to get her adventure underway.

Traversing the area just outside of Taloba, Shari simply admired the surrounding scenery and wildlife. The sounds of birds and the snapping of twigs filled her ears with the sounds and surroundings that helped make her so proud to be a Myrian. As she moved further from the city, the dense flora thickened even more and although the trees, vines, and bushes closed in on her and the space was snatched up from around her, Shari felt more comforted than claustrophobic. This was the land her ancestors roamed and the same land her race presently dominated. Simply being immersed in such a scenic atmosphere comforted the Falyndar native.

The sun's morning light seemed to be playing hide and seek with the jungle floor as splotches of shade alternated with carpets of light. Those areas that were illuminated seemed lush and thriving while the areas just out of the sun's reach gave an image of secrecy as if the belongings therein were of nobody's business. Shari drew in a deep breath and allowed herself a modest smile. She had been walking awhile now and though never completely certain of who or what lie in wait nearby, the Myrian felt fairly sure she was alone. At least from other people, that it. It was not quite that she was avoiding anybody, and nobody in particular, but she just wanted to find out what nature was destined to present her with on this day. Staying aware of her surroundings but not allowing herself to feel paranoid, Shari thought this day would certainly end up being quite productive.

[Cayenne]

Syna was out today, and neither Zulrav nor Makutsi seemed to be in residence. But the rain had been torrential a few days ago, coming in a sudden storm that had utterly drenched the already humid region. The children had shouted at each other enjoyed the shower, many of them sporting a colourful Riamm on their head or hopping along behind, and it had been a respite for the adults as well. Shari had seen numerous Tskannas out getting baths in the rain, and seen a couple of the calves playing by gathering up water in their trunks and literally blasting it at each other. Rain was always welcomed by the Myrians. There could never be too much of it.

She heard a squawk from a long-tailed bird overhead,just as it practically threw a nut at her. That was a bloodbill, she knew, with a long bill almost as long as its body. The tip of the beak was of the deepest crimson, like someone had soaked it in blood, though it faded out to a whitish-pink colour as it reached the bird's head. The bird picked another one of the nuts of the tall mikmik tree, and proceeded to crack it loudly before letting the pieces drop on Shari again while it munched on the meat of the nut. Clearly, it wasn't overly bothered by her presence.

But around the mikmik tree, she knew, there were plenty of other plants. One of which she recognized from time spent with one of her aunts as a child. It was a vine that climbed around the base of the tree, and perhaps another six feet up. The main stem of the vine was covered with bristles and had long, white whip-like strands that grew down from the vine. The two plants, the mikmik tree and the whipvine enjoyed a symbiotic relationship - the whipvine protected the mikmik tree from animals that would enjoy munching on its bark, and the mikmik had plenty of insects over it that would happily eat that bark... only for the whipvine to ensnare it in the 'hair' that grew from the vines, which were filled with little hooks. While touching it only led to irritation, and serious rashes for a Myrian, it was a much bigger deal for other races. Ingesting it was another matter entirely.

[Shari]

The sun soaked Shari's skin with warmth and the Myrian enjoyed the humid air created by the rays beating down on the still moist ground and plants. Taking a deep breath on afternoons such as this was more difficult than during the rains or while immersed in a dry spell, but the woman filled her lungs nonetheless, taking in every ounce of life her body could manage. Though every day spent in the jungles of Falyndar surrounding Taloba was a good one in the Myrians book, this was definitely a day to enjoy Syna and her warm offerings.

As she moved through the trees without much haste or a particular direction in mind, Shari soon realized she was not the only one out and enjoying the day. The squawk from above her head became a perfectly timed warning for the bombing mission the bloodbill was apparently commencing. Shari only had time for a defensive blink before the nut came crashing down on her. She frowned and furrowed her brow and stared up, raising her hand to shield the bright and quickly forgotten sun from her eyes. The bird, now in focus, was beautifully colored and innocently chowing down for a tasty meal- hardly anything Shari could become angry about. That is until the shelling continued.

Having more of a warning before the second attack, the woman simply did not choose to evade this round. Disregarding the sun now, Shari's hands darted downward to come to rest on her hips before saying, "Listen here, I think you're doing this on purpose now!" She was of course not truthfully angry at the bird but her spirit was jovial and she felt like enjoying every moment this day had to offer. Even if included in those moments was a brief assault by a long-tailed bird that was either completely ignorant of the Myrian or, and much more likely, was intentionally messing with the woman found underneath its branch.

[Cayenne]

The bird squawked at her again, and flared its wings, dipping its enormous bill down towards and raised its tail. The way it ruffled its feathers made it look like it was twice as big as it hissed and let out a resounding shriek at her. Its tree! Move along! If Shari wanted to get at any of that whipvine, which could certainly be useful for poisons, she should probably move quickly. The bloodbill wasn't that likely to leave its tree, but even if it was going to just chuck shells at her. There didn't seem to be any more coming, what with the bird's defensive posture and gestures telling her to move along.

If she wanted to risk it, though, she could always try throwing things right back. But bloodbills were vicious buggers, and would chase you from sundown to sunup unless something killed them or they finally got tired of chasing you to go back to their nests. Easy to trap that way, but they were tenacious and not particularly pleasant. The ridges in that beak could hurt. More than one person that Shari knew had had a broken finger from a pet bloodbill, or had gotten attacked by a wild one.

Beyond the whipvine-covered tree was plenty of clusters of large, cone-petaled flowers. Iliconia, her great-aunt Nukula had told her before, was a useful plant - roots, stem, flower, and all. All of the parts of the flower were useful, it was constantly growing, and fairly widespread in its distribution. Of course, the harvesting was always a tricky matter, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. Iliconia was notoriously difficult for its roots. Not only were they considerably valuable, they were extensive and ventured downwards instead of spreading out... sometimes longer than the plant on top.

Shari had the feeling something was watching her. It wasn't unusual in Falyndar to have that feeling, and she was at least fairly close to her city that she shouldn't be seeing Dhani, but the skin on the back of her neck prickled, just a little bit. Never ignore your instincts, her teachers had told them growing up. Your instincts usually told you what to do long before your head had figured it out. They honed their instincts to a razor sharp edge for a reason, after all, and it wasn't so that they could ignore them.