[Flashback:Cara]A chance meeting.

[Antar]

oocOh, well. No sob stories this time, I kind of want to get to the original idea of a little reimancy/archery/target practice. Probably after the soup, though :3

Sighing irritably at the woman's rather recaltritant demeanor, Noth cursed the gods of the language barrier which seemed to be between him and all the Vantha. Sure, the woman might not wish to tell anything to a stranger, that much was obvious from her body language and continuous cold shoulder.

Sighing as the steaming pot of soup was boiling, Noth ladled out a bowl for himself and a bowl for Cara before filling his smaller pot with some broth and chicken pieces for the red panda. Speaking plainly so he could be heard. "Maybe some other time, my new friend. If the soup is a little hot for your friend the Rascal." He said pantomiming cooling his tongue and pointing to the animal, "Add a bit of snow to it to cool it down , Cara."

For a moment, he ate in silence savoring the quaint meal. It was a good, adequately spiced concoction that was full of nutrients and vitamins from the broth and extra added vegetables and the warm liquid made its way to his belly, warming him from the inside. Watching as Cara partook a bit of the meal, he saw a slight shiver of some sort come to her as her mind seemed to be elsewhere. As the fire began to dry his leathers and give him a nice toasty feeling that mixed with the warm meal he added a bit more wood. Noth figured he was ready to play the part of a nice host. "Are you cold Cara? If you are, I can get you a blanket to help keep yourself warm. Please feel free to help yourself to more soup if you wish."

As he waited for her reply , and in between spoonfuls of broth Noth started humming a little offkey tune as the weather began to clear up above the grove of trees his camp was situated in. Removing his gloves to blow on his hands to warm them up faster he started to wiggle his toes in his boots as feeling began to return.

It wasn't long before Noth was finished and reaching for a set of long sticks he had gathered up before. Taking up his knife he began to whittle both ends of a stick. He was thinking it would be best to arrange the sticks around camp, pointing outwards to discourage any beastie which came a knocking and figured what might be good for a few traps as well as he waited for his rather incalcatrantly stubborn guest to finish.

The weather might break soon, and he'd probably end up walking Cara back to her hold as a courtesy. Then it was another long night being asleep in his tent. Far from the luxuries of any house or home. But such was a part of his job as well. He didn't have a home, or a family, not any of real importance anyways. It was just one difference that set him apart from the vantha people. Though he might wish for more someday, Antar thought it would be foolish to try. He'd never escape the confines of his present circumstances, nor the watchful eye the Mortanis kept on all its prospects. He was here for a job, a bit of revenge hunting down a symenestra. Nothing more and nothing less.

It was all rather pitiful he supposed to a vantha woman absorbed in the midst of her own problems... besides, he wouldn't have told her anything about that. It wasn't anything a proper woman, even one a little bent in the head from reimancy should hear.

[Cara]

Cara pressed the tips of her fingers lightly around the edge of the bowl, so that they hovered just above the line of soup. She watched as tiny tendrils of steam wafted upwards, towards the sky, before a gentle breeze swept them away. She raised the bowl a little closer to her lips, and blew on it lightly, as its strong odor wafted upwards, towards her bright red nose. Well that doesn't smell even remotely appetizing, not at all like what the Winterflames could have made for lunch, Cara's mind growled, as the Vantha pressed her lips lightly against the edge of the bowl. She slowly tilted it upwards, easing the warm broth towards her lips. As soon as her lips had met with the liquid, the girl parted her lips just widely enough to allow for a few drops of soup to make their way into her mouth. She allowed the fluid to roll around on her tongue, mixing with her saliva, before she hurriedly swallowed it, desperate to get it to go away. Cara lowered her bowl as she forced herself to swallow, choking the soup down and not caring at all if she made a face about it. It tasted as though the meat had burnt, while the vegetables had been overcooked, causing them to become a little too chewy. Not only that, but everything was rather salty, as though he had dumped in a whole container of the stuff. Cara glanced down at her companion, who also, didn't seem to be enjoying the food. "You don't eat this sort of stuff do you love?" Cara asked in Vani. "Much prefer everything fresh and raw." Rascal looked up at her, his eyes pleading with her to leave; to get them both away from the stupid outsider and his horrible home cooking. Cara smiled weakly, glad that her companion seemed to share the same piece of mind. Delicately, she placed her bowl of soup down in the snow, just in front of her companion. "Rascal. No like," Cara growled in Vani. "To Hold," she finished, as got to her feet and plucked him up off the ground. She cradled him in her arms, whispering in Vani, "don't worry love, we'll find a Winterflame to whip us up something that's actually edible." "Thank you," Cara growled as she began to walk back towards the Holds, hoping that Ant did not follow. If he did, she could always find a way to dissuade him. Say to make him dance, for example. OOCAnt has no cooking exp. Cara is a cranky Vantha. She is going to find something to complain about me thinks.

[Antar]

For a moment after tasting the warm broth and the aroma of the marjoram and thyme Noth gleefully figured this was probably at least a pallateable soup. It was after all a simple traveler's fare and tasted good enough to him. The use of the pre-prepared vegetables was a bit of an experience but at very least it went down passably well.

As the two guests tried it, Noth sighed as the woman wrinkled her nose like a dissatisfied bratty schoolgirl who had never had a hard day's meal in her life. Honestly it was almost a little insulting, so he continued eating as the girl spoke in that eloquently vani language again.It was a little salty to be sure from the preservatives, but traveler's stock with prepared vegetables was the staple of traveling. Anyone who had spent time on the road could prepare it, after all, in some cities there were even directions on the packets you bought. He was picking up a few words here and there, the name of the little beast to be sure. Rascal. What a delightfully sounding name if he didn't even knew what it meant.

When the woman stammered and growled off several quick sentences in vani, including a few single sound words that sounded like bitten off curses of vaniIf you look closely, You had cara not switch back to basic so I'm going to roll with it. . He could only watch in bewilderment as the woman stood and grabbed her pet to storm off away from camp. Confused and puzzled to what it all meant, Noth called after her, "What did you just say, Cara?"

Unsure if he had just done something horrendously inappropriate to local customs Antar started after her with the intention to apologize profusely after uttering a small prayer for patience and grace in the dealing with her childrenloud enough to carry above the crackling fires. Honestly, he didn't understand women sometimes. They tended to be more trouble then they were worth and a few seemed to have the idea of acting as churlish as possible was a good way of going about their lives.

Antar honestly didn't wish for any ill will between him and Cara, or any of the vantha people, he was here after a symenestra after all. Not for the first time since he had gotten to Avanthal he wondered just what he had gotten himself into. If however things got ugly, Noth supposed he could call out to see if there was any other vantha nearby to ask them to translate an apology for... for whatever he had done to upset her.

[Cara]

Cara tread through the snow at a fast walk, bowling over clods of it as she forced her legs through the sea of white powder. Too hurried to lift them fully out of the snow before planting them back down and continuing forward. Rascal's tail swished back and forth, lightly massaging the Vantha's back as the whistling wind swept her long black hair off her back. The girl's nose and the tips of her ears continued to turn a bright shade of red, as the life they once held seemed to fade away into a deeper state of numbness. Rascal's ears twitched as they picked up on the sound of Antar's steps, causing Cara to glance behind her. At first, Antar seemed like a dark fleck against the snow, a black pepper ground stuck in a pile of salt. Cara grit her teeth, petching outsider must want an explanation for our sudden departure, Cara thought. But if he actually tasted his own soup, and swallowed some, he would not need it. How he can serve such a thing to guests, especially female guests, is beyond me. "Go back. No follow," Cara growled in Common, over her shoulder. Just because she had agreed to share a meal with Antar didn't mean she liked him or wanted to extend her time in his company. Or in anyone else's company, who she may have done the same with. Women understood this, men, however, were another story. As soon as she ate with one, they always assumed they had gained her favor, at least a little bit, and could in time, do more in order to keep gaining it. This, of course, was not the case. There was no way to win Cara's favor unless you were at least in part, in-human. With others who fed her, tried to be kind, or simply didn't understand her nature, she extended a limited degree of tolerance. However, when this low level of tolerance was breached, it was unlikely the perpetrator would escape without at least a few burns, if he was not simply reduced to a pile of ashes. As Cara continued onwards, ignoring Antar's shouts, she could not help but think about what it would be like if he found out where she lived. Not that he didn't already know what Hold she belonged to, but if he ever found her room within the Hold, she knew he'd be knocking on her door at least every once in awhile, trying to make this whole fiasco up to her. If he proved to be anything like the other Vantha anyway, and she could not allow that to happen. She needed to push past the language barrier that hung heavily between them, and show Antar that she did not wish to be bothered by his presence anymore. Thus, Cara began to concentrate on her djed. She could feel it sitting in the pit of her stomach, like the calm, cool waters of a lake. As she concentrated on it, she could sense tiny ripples shooting across the surface; a disturbance in the force that lingered there. It was being awakened, called back into life to serve its purpose: to defend Cara, and terrorize others. She could feel her liquid djed stirring, lapping up against the sides of her stomach, splashing into the larger pool as it was forced back down. Her chest seemed to rumble, to vibrate with power as the liquid djed continued to heat up, beginning to boil, it rose upwards, pushing against the confines of her chest until it broke free. It flowed out of her stomach, towards her heart and lungs, flowing into each and filling the Vantha with an intoxicating sense of power. Once each of the organs had been filled to the brim, the djed continued onwards, towards her neck, at which point, it bubbled over into each of her arms. The djed trickled through her veins, filling her with a sense of warmth as it pooled in her hands, the tips of her fingers. They felt as though they were burning when she finally transfered the red panda to her left arm, to make room for her work. Finally, Cara allowed her djed to be released. It spiraled out of the palm of her right hand, sending tiny tendrils of light blue mist into the wintry air. The mist gathered a few inches above her palm, forming a tiny sphere, no more than two inches high, and another two wide. The res she continued to release was sucked into the sphere, forcing it to grow larger. To her, the orb seemed to grow as she stared, waiting for it to get to a point where she knew it would satisfy her needs. When she was made as certain as she could be that the orb was good enough, Cara lit the center on fire. It gave off a warm, orange glow, that flickered against the snow. "Go back!" Cara growled again in Common as she turned to face Antar head on. A second later, she had lit the outside of the res orb as well. The fire crackled and spit as it lit the edges of her face, casting the far side in shadow. Her eyes were an angry ruby red, coupled with the occasional emerald green fleck. Slowly, she brought her arm back, before hurling the fireball at Antar's feet. She could hear the fire crackling as it soared towards its destination. "Go now!" she yelled one last time, before turning around, silently praying to Morwen that a single fireball would be enough to get this idiot to leave her alone. OOCI don't know why, but I always picture djed as a liquid until it is released into the air, becoming a gas.

[Antar]

If there was ever something which could break the facade of his pleasant demeanor then attacking him was it. Normally, were any foolish petching idiot were to attack him the normal rules of his conduct would enforce waiting till the dead of night and slitting their throats. But this was Avanthal, the normal rules of operation were different, he was here for a job. And a job he would do.

At her display of pyromaniacal joy as a warning, all thoughts of apologizing whisked themselves out of the picture. All thoughts of ever viewing this woman as anything more then a deviant , mind broken, shell of a waste of vanthan flesh besot with too many problems to cure went out the window. For now, the only thing that "Cara' personified in his mind was that dangerously thin line between "useful" and "disposable.''

Speaking softly, with barely controlled rage his eyes bored into the woman's and he spoke shortly, in clear distinct words. "You... are ... an... ungrateful brat. First... you accost me on the road. All while... wandering aimlessly away from Avanthal like a spoiled lost child! And then you have the nerve to attack someone who was only wanting to keep you safe on the way back to your Frostfawn Hold! You were right before: I will never trust a Frostfawn's or any other Vantha's word if they are as dis honorable as you.

He calmed himself visibly with a great sigh. "By Morwen's Blood Girl: Give me a single reason not to tell the Icewatch of your little attempt at burning me with a fireball no less! A traveler, who shared with you the only stores he had left! Tell me, are you just a Rich brat who doesn't understand that a Poor person's fare will automatically not be to your tastes?"

Pointing to the woman he spoke. "You . Want. Go. Home. You. Prove. You. Keep. Yourself. Safe."

Taking an arrow from its quiver , he pointed to it and made a number of diverse signs. "You. Hit. This. Arrow. With. Fireball. You. Prove. Yourself. Adult. Enough. To. Be. Safe. You. Don't. You. Still. Child. "

Continuing with his pointing he spoke slowly so she could absorb every word. A number of diverse signs followed. "If . You. Can't. Keep. Yourself. Safe. Then. You. Child. Children. Stay. Protected. Till. They. Are. Walked. Home. " Without waiting for a response he knocked an arrow and randomly fired to the side away from the girl. It fell heavy into the snow.

Turning back to her, Noth spoke. "You. Miss. Try. Again. Cara. Prove. You. Can. Protect. Yourself. Then. You. No. Child. You . Go . Home. by. Yourself."

Knocking another arrow he pointed the bow sideways and stared into her eyes. A clear challenge to her abilities. No matter what language she spoke, the words he used were clear enough that anyone with a smattering of common would understand. She had two choices of which getting angry was no doubt going to occur because that was the only emotion he'd seen from the girl- no his thoughts corrected themselves- from the child in a woman's body. The first choice- be angry enough to attack him. Or start realizing that Noth's motives as an "outsider'' were far more alien to her then any Vantha's and that for him to leave her alone she'd have to win this game of targets. Or the third option she might puzzle was that this infuriating outsider was true to his word he'd simply follow along long enough to pass her off to the nearest Icewatch as he promised. Since he said in his culture she was acting like a child of course, and thus was treated as such. Moreover, it might have been even more infuriating for her to realize that perhaps, just perhaps, the only reason this outsider had taken any interest in her at all was because to his eyes: she may have been a child all along.

[Cara]

Cara simply glared at Antar as she put Rascal down in the snow. Her hands balled into fists as her cheeks were overcome by bright red pigmentation. Her eyes flared an angry red as her heart pounded like a drum in her tiny rib cage. She could feel the djed within her warming up, heating up so quickly that soon enough, it was bubbling, boiling, tiny vapors of power, swarming up her chest. Towards her ears, whispering to her to cast more. To turn her res into fire and burn Antar alive, alongside his arrows. You know you want to Cara, it whispered, its voice soft, soothing. It was as though the warmest fur blanket in all of Avanthal had been melted down into a liquid, and then burned until it became that wispy voice. As the wind blew, sweeping Cara's hair off her shoulders, she could have sworn she felt someone rest their hands on her shoulders. Feel someone lean in next to her, their breath against the back of her neck as the whispers continued. You know you want to make his arrows melt; the snow that surrounds him. You know you want him to burn, to be reduced to ash for calling you a child. No man should call you names Cara... no man who treats you like this should be left alive. You should make him pay Cara, make him burn for his actions. His inability to speak Vani... Cara's mind added as she willed her djed into the palms of her hands. Slowly, the girl released her djed, forming a clear res. It floated above each of her palms. Cara lifted her hands, holding them out before her, her palms turned away from her body. She began to move her hands slowly, back and forth, from left to right, forming a thin sheet of res before her. The rectangular sheet was no more than a half an inch thick, a foot wide, and two feet high when she was finished. Finally, Cara returned her hands to her sides as she let it glide forward, a few more inches away from her, before she lit the edges on fire, so that she could see where it was headed, much as Antar could. "Shoot. Outsider," Cara growled in Common as she waited to see where his latest arrow would go. As soon as Antar had released the last arrow, she would guide the sheet of res towards it, and light the middle on fire, so that there would be no way for the arrow to escape. As she waited, the fire crackled, tiny tendrils of grey smoke spiraling towards the sky as the snow at her feet was cast in an eerie orange glow. "Try to shoot better, your aim sucks!" she added as she lifted her right hand ever so slightly, preparing to guide the res. OOCWe should probably wrap up soon.

[Antar]

oocOne to two more posts each sounds about right to me

Smiling coldly at the vanthan woman, Noth held the subtle realization that no matter how childish she was, the flush of her features certainly made her at least look attractive. Even if it probably was in anger. However, there was an old expression: Beauty only went skin deep. Frankly, were she not a Vantha living in a single city he might have been worried she might have been a carrier for the blyght. But with her inability to have some grace and charm about herself he viewed that as unlikely.

Pretending she spoke something wrong in common, Noth slung a rejoinder back. "Thank you. For saying something- about- my- good- aim! First -nice thing -you said! Maybe that show you not child. Just mean. Now, I aim for -" He pointed towards a tall tree a good ways distant, with a rather thick trunk, about five feet wide and eighty feet away."-That-tree. You Ready?”

Without waiting for a reply he drew a bead on the target, and made a slight correction for the wind. The knocked arrow resting just below and to the right of his chin as he aimed off the point of the arrow. He didn’t aim off the shaft, due to the fact an arrow naturally veered its course slightly from resting on one side of the bow or the other. He counted down. “Three-Two-One.” On the silent count of zero he released the arrow, letting the string roll off his finger tips to make the arrow fly true…

It shot up into the air with a resounding arc, giving Cara a run for her mizas to hit the arrow. It was a possible shot to make, but would require a bit of leading the target with the Res.

[Cara]

Cara watched the arrow slice through the air. He either can't aim for his life, the Vantha thought, or is doing that just to be difficult. Her brows furrowed, as she lifted both of her hands, and held them out before her, her palm facing away as she pushed them ever so slightly, away from her, willing the res block to move towards the arrow. Once it had inched in the way of the tree, Cara began to light the rest of the block. Starting from the outside and working her way in, leaving only the very center unlit, so that she could maintain a greater amount of control over the flaming block of res. Cara could hear the fire crackling as it inched away from her, sending even fatter spirals of thick grey smoke into the air as it glided away. Cara bit her bottom lip as several beads of sweat appeared on her brow, and her body trembled. It was getting all the more difficult to guide her magic now, partially because she was tired, partially because she was cold, and partially because most of her expended djed had been lit. Just a little more to the right and we should burn that arrow to bits, Cara thought as she flicked her right hand in that direction, willing the firewall onwards. The arrow was creeping closer now, falling down from its high arc towards the soft bed of snow that covered the ground. Now is as good a time as any, Cara thought as she lit the center of the firewall on fire, before moving her right hand to the left and the left towards the right, so that they stopped where the last had once stood. Effectively, making a circle which she hoped would get the wall of fire to tilt, so it could catch the arrow. Slowly, it twisted, the bottom of it coming up and to the left as the top came down towards the right. It formed a diagonal line by the time the arrow was anywhere near. Just one more second, Cara thought, as she waited for her fire to incinerate the wood. OOCI figured I'd let you decide if I destroyed the arrow. Since it's your arrow...

[Antar]

Antar smiled as the arc of fire sped through the air on a collision course with the arrow, bisecting it in twain as he turned back to the childish woman who seemed so full of ire. The arrow pieces fell to the forest snow, sizzling out as the fiery wave dissipated into the skies above Avanthal's outskirts."Congratulations, Cara. Good Shot. You prove yourself not child. Think on this now- Power is one way to protect child- you truly Adult- you protect children too: keep them from being hurt in future. You go now back to nice warm hold now. I go back to -cold tent- Good night. "

Turning around he walked a few paces before turning back and squatting down to look at Rascal sitting in the snow, and gave him a wink."Goodbye,Rascal. You good animal. Sorry you no like stew, maybe sometime if you come back here I get you-fresh rabbit and send you home safe. Don't bring Cara though. She mean to me at least. But I like animals more then people anyways! You take care of troublesome Cara, Keep her from trouble. Bite anyone who tries hurt her and I catch you something! Bye Bye." he finished with a slight wave and a polite bow towards Cara before turning back to his camp.

Straightening up Antar turned around and began to hum as he walked back towards his tent leaving the woman behind him in the snow and the cold to make her way back towards her hold. He had a few things to do back in his camp before he could settle down for a night's rest. Carving stakes and setting up a perimeter, tying the carcass of the caribou up in the tarp , cold packing it with snow before putting it up a tree to dissuade the smell from getting to predators. Not to mention he'd have to try and save whatever stew he'd splurged on his two visitors for the days ahead, try to ration it a bit. Thinking of the things on his list Noth went towards what would be at least another three hours of grueling work.

oocone more post each sound good?

[Cara]

Cara smiled as she watched her magic destroy Antar's arrow. She was convinced she could hear the feathers that fletched it sizzling, as each of the tiny fibers were pulled away from the center stalk, the fire causing each of them to melt into the snow. A newly-formed spiral of thick grey smoke rose into the sky, being absorbed into the cool air, slowly, silently, as it inched closer and closer to the clouds. As soon as the spiral of smoke began to thin once more, since it was no longer being fed elements of the earth, Cara lowered her hands, willing the firewall to sink into the snow. It took her a few tries, a few swift flicks of the wrist, now that she had less control of her magic. Now that everything was lit, and she was growing tired- her chest rising and falling rapidly as she struggled to bring in another breath of cold air, air that bit at the sides of her throat. Her heart was pounding rapidly, her palms felt sweaty, as did her forehead. She could feel tiny droplets of water dripping down her face, until they froze or fell from it. But finally, the firewall fell. Sinking into the snow, causing a large portion to melt away before it was snuffed out. Leaving a line of black around the area it consumed, as a final, large, spiral of smoke rose into the air; signifying death. "Happy?" Cara growled in Common, as she turned from the sight of her work to Antar. "Your arrow ruined. Magic wins." There was a slight pause. "Cara win stupid game." With that, she glanced down at Rascal, who had curled into her leg at the sight of the fire. He never had gotten used to the stuff. She could feel his tiny body trembling. "Sorry love," Cara whispered in Vani. "Had to show the tikita a lesson. But it's over now. Cara won and we can go home." She smiled weakly at her companion, before looking to Antar. "No talk Rascal. Go home. LOSER!" the vantha screamed in Common as she turned abruptly on her heels. "Come along Rascal, before you catch cold," Cara instructed, as she began to walk back towards the Hold. "I don't have the strength to carry you after that display of power. I know your paws will be wet by the time we get back... we can dry them when we get there." She could just make out the sound of Rascal padding through the snow after her, his tail dragging behind his body. "And once you're dry we can sit in bed, curling ourselves up under the covers, since the day has proven to be so cold," Cara finished as her body shivered. The two walked in silence until they reached the Hold, several minutes later. They made it to Cara's room within moments after having reached it. At which point, as she had promised, she dried her companion off with a towel, before changing into a dry set of clothes and getting into bed. At which point, she pulled the covers up around her chin, and closed her eyes. Soon enough, she was slipping off into another of Nysel's nightmares. OOCThe bit where Cara speaks to Rascal at the end is in Vani. Thanks for the thread. Feel free to finish up whenever you can and turn it into Chesh.