How Healers Hunt (Aidara)

[Sira]

How Healers Hunt Timestamp: 50th of Summer, 511 AV The problem was, Aidara couldn't hunt. It wasn't that she was physically incapable, she could fire a bow well enough. Nor was it that she didn't desire to help or fulfill her duties as an Endal. The problem was that mark. The mark which made her so precious and invaluable, yet limited her in so many ways. Aidara was a healer and as such she could not harm others except in self defense. It wasn't that Sira had a problem with this, it was that she feared others eventually would. The Endal had a responsibility to provide food and protection to the Inarta, and as helpful as useful as Healing was it did not bring food to the table. Sira didn't mind picking up the slack, she could hunt for both of them if she had to, but she knew that Aidara felt that she was falling short of her duties. So Sira thought long and hard, and finally she came up with an idea that might just work. She let Addy sleep in, there was no rush at the moment. They were going to be staying the night where they were going, so they could afford some extra rest. As always, Sira herself was up very early. Though she was no songbird Sira was humming a tune in excitement as she prepped everything for the overnight trip. As an Endal she could pretty much get anything she asked for, especially if it had to do with her job, and so all the equipment she needed had been loaded into a crate which had handles large enough for Sira to grip with her talons. The crate had been placed in Catabasis aerie, and though she knew it annoyed him, she assured the eagle that hopefully one day soon they would have their own nest built in and they wouldn't have to bother him anymore. When Addy finally awoke Sira ran into the bedroom and pounced, rolling about in the bed for a while doing unmentionable things and basically wasting even more time. This was rather unusual for her, being that it was a work day, but Sira doubted the healer would complain. When they finally calmed down enough for Sira to talk she propped herself up on her elbow and looked at Addy happily. "So.. I had an idea the other night. We're going on a camping trip. I have an idea that might help us with our hunting problem." She didn't explain much else. Once they were both ready to go, Sira's clothing an hunting gear packed away into one of their saddle bags, she shifted waited for Addy to saddle her. Come on, woman, we don't have all day. The comment was dripping with sarcasm of course. Sira was the one who had made them late, not Addy. And even though she acted like she was in a hurry she still fidgeted and caused as many problems as she always did while being saddled. We really need to get a new saddle, she commented as Addy hoisted the old hand-me-down saddle onto the kelvic's back. It was a beat up old thing, but it got the job done. It was only out of sheer laziness and procrastination that neither of them had requested a new saddle yet. Once they were airborne Sira took them out and away from the city. The forested land of the unforgiving spread out beneath them. Sira's keen eyes spotted more than a few deer and other animals down below, but this wasn't a normal hinting trip. She ignored all those easy picking and confined to fly, taking them to a small valley in the mountains Sira had chosen a few days prior. There was nothing particularly special about the area, it was just an out of the way place that she had picked. If everything went well this would prove to be a nice relaxing evening under the stars more than a hunting expedition. Sira set down in the first clearing she saw, dropping the crate a few feet before she hit the ground and landing behind it. Okay, get this thing off me so I can show you my plan! Addy could hear the excitement in Sira's voice as she fidgeted under the saddle waiting for Addy to help her out of it.

[Aidara]

Sira had the best wake up calls. And that was about the most coherent thing Addy could come up with for the first half a bell that she was awake; She and Sira rolled and twisted upon, under, and between the sheets. Sira had started it, bombarding the drowsy healer the second she moved, but the Kevlic soon had Addy moaning and gasping with pleasure. Neither of the woman ever denied their most animalistic urges, and this was no exception. By the time they both emerged from the confines of the bed they were completely out of breath, panting, grinning and tousled. Sira also sported fresh red scratches that ran from her lower back to her shoulders; when she saw them, Addy smirked. As they dressed, still wrapped in the bliss of their frolics, Sira slyly slipped in her plans. The healer agreed readily before she really thought it through. In fact, they were both in Catabasis' aerie and checking their gear for the flight before it hit her. "Wait. Camping? You know what happened the last time! I can't save you from a bear, Sira! Are you trying to get me a heart attack? I'm useless in a fight!" Flinging the saddle to the ground, Addy crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the Kelvic. Sira knew what she, Renol, Kovac and Sai had been through. She knew how hard a time dealing with the whole situation, her inability to properly protect her people like a real Endal and her inferiority complex regarding her healing gift, or lack there of, compared to the healers under her employment. "I have an idea that might help our hunting problem." Sira explained slowly, placing the crate down next to where the saddle landed. An arm extended and wrapped around the healers shoulders as she was drawn into a hug. If there was one thing Sira had over Addy, it was that she knew the little woman couldn't stay mad at her. Refusing to let go until she calmed down, Addy was forced to take a deep breath, and then another. Stepping away from her violent reaction and her fear and insecurity, she was then able to look at the situation clearly. Of course Sira wouldn't take her anywhere dangerous, nor would she allow her to be hurt. Not only that, but Sira had been excited; now she looked worried as she gently rubbed Addy's arms. "I'm sorry. I clearly overreacted." Smiling lightly and pulling out of the embrace, she teasingly snapped her fingers, pointing to the empty ground in front of her. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get over here." We really need to get a new saddle "What is this "we"? You said you were going to take care of it. You complain about it every time, isn't that enough motivation to get going? The other Endal are making fun of me for strapping in, but I'm going to keep doing so until the saddle isn't two sizes too big." The women really liked to complain at each other. It was the feisty banter that most likely kept them from tearing each others clothes off at any given moment. It diffused some of the sexual tension, if one was to frustrate the other. Maybe that was why, without fail, Sira made it a complete process to be saddled. Or, she could just like making Addy's life difficult. Either way, they were soon in the sky. Still not used to piloting her own Wind Eagle, it was taking Addy twice as long as it should to gather her bearings as they flew over the seemingly endless expanse of trees and game trails. It really all looks the same. I don't know how any of you do it. You're lucky I have no idea where we are going, ever, or else it would be much harder for you to surprise me. What was in that crate anyway? Naturally curious and nosey, Addy realized she hadn't even thought to look through the crate that Sira grasped in her talons. Sira disinclined to respond, and soon the curiosity was eating away at the small healer. So much so, that she didn't even notice them enter the valley until Sira made their decent. Where are we? I know i have never been here before. Sira gave a rather unhelpful reply, something akin to "the woods" or "a valley", and Addy dismounted with a huff. The saddle was removed in a much shorter amount of time than it had taken to place it there; Sira was always eager to get the thing off. As the great bird shook out it's feathers and preened, Addy hung the saddle and it's gear on a low hanging branch, taking care that nothing dragged on or touched the ground. If it got all dirty, she would be the one cleaning it. "Alright, let's set up camp first." Sira was dressed and carefully removing things from the crate. With a nervous glance towards the surrounding trees and shadows, Addy quickly paced to the other woman's side, peering over her shoulder into the crate. "You get the tent, and I'll start the fire. I'll feel much better once it's going." Another nervous glance over her shoulder and Addy shivered. It was like getting back onto a bike after a great fall; the first time back was always the hardest, scariest part. Addy hadn't camped since their disaster, but thought she handled the whole situation well; She had only woken screaming from bloody bear nightmares for a few nights after their return. By the time a month had passed, she didn't even actively think of it anymore. Now that she was out there in the woods, she felt vulnerable all over again, with all the memories flooding back. She was lucky that Sira was who she was. Any other eagle would have seen her fear as weakness, and perhaps inability to be an Eagle rider. Things weren't so black and white, and Sira knew that. Addy wasn't afraid of feeling weak or scared around the woman. "We're going to be okay, right?" Scuffling her feet in the dirt, Addy clasped her hands behind her back and looked up at Sira from beneath her lashes. She felt almost guilty, being so scared. Sira had clearly meant this trip to be fun, and Addy was ruining that. OOCSorry it's not the best post. I kinda had a mental block for this one, since there isn't much going on yet.

[Sira]

Sira paused in her work of unpacking the crate. She didn't fail to notice Aidara's antsyness. She was afraid, but she didn't need to be. But that didn't mean she wasn't, and so Sira had to help her through it. It was important for Aidara to conquer her fears, because Sira was ultimately a creature if the outdoors and if Aidara was afraid every time they went out then things were going to be very difficult for the healer. Sira got up and walked over to the nervously pacing healer, gently grabbing her shoulders and holding her in place. "Addy, don't be afraid. Nothing can hurt you as long as I am with you. And if anything come near the birds," Sira motioned to the forest indicating the various birds singing all around, "Will tell me if anything dangerous is nearby. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen." Sira glanced up at the sky to the west, "Now we've got a bell, maybe two, before the sun sets. Don't worry about the fire yet, we've got work to do." Sira led Aidara by the hand and took her to the crate. Reaching in she produced four small cage things. "This is how we're hunting today. See," Sira pushed open the door to one of the cages, "Bunny, or squirrel, or whatever goes in here. Then," Sira pulled her hand out and the door snapped shut, "he takes the bait, which releases the door and it snaps shut. We put the traps out tonight, come back in the morning and if we're luck then we caught something. If not, that's why we brought four traps. Food is caught, and we don't have to hurt anything." It was such a simple solution, Sira didn't know why she had never thought of it before. They could do the same thing with crabs, and even larger game with the right traps. And the best part was, all the animals could be brought back live and left for someone else to deal with. They might end up as food, or even pets for children. "Now, let's go set these up. You carry two and I'll carry the other two. We could cover more ground if we split up but I wanna spend time with you away from the hustle and bustle of the city so we'll stay together of that's alright with you?" Sira really did feel it would be better to split up and get things done quicker, but she said what she said for Aidara's own benefit. It was a way for them to stay together without Aidara having to blame it on herself and her fears. Sira led them into the woods, moving at a slightly rushed pace because she wanted to be back at camp before sunset. "On the way back we can gather firewood," she commented as they walked along. "Keep an eye out for holes, game trails, things like that. The best place to put these is outside burrows or somewhere they'll see it before they get a chance to go find food. This way it will be the first food they see and they'll go for the trap instead of foraging." After a while Sira spotted what might be a rabbit hole near an old tree stump. Kneeling and examining the ground she was able to find a few small round pellet like things, rabbit droppings, and Sira smiled putting a finger to her lips. Quietly Sira set up the trap near the hole, opening the door and fastening the hook that kept it in place. The trap was a simple spring loaded mechanism activated with a pressure plate. I've never actually hunted with one of these, but it should be easy enough, she sent across their bond. Sira placed the bait, some celery, carrot shavings, and other fruits and vegetables mixed together carefully onto the plate, then slowly backed away. I thought about using other traps, but they don't always kill the animal right away and.. well.. you know. But these I think will be perfect for you. Come on, let's go find another hole. You can set up the next one.

[Aidara]

Reassured and tugged along, Addy gladly took the distraction from her fears to see what Sira had brought along for them. Brows arched in interest as the woman produced the large metal contraptions such as Addy had never seen before. They clacked and clanged as Sira stacked them before picking one up to explain. "No way! I wonder why everyone doesn't use these?" Taking the one Sira held, Addy looked it over carefully. It was easy enough to see how it worked. At first, when Sira had started her trap explanation, the healers first thoughts were the gruesome bear traps and the snapping ones used to catch mice. She had almost thrown up her hands and declared she wanted nothing to do with traps, but at the last minute had decided to hear Sira out. "And the little holes," Sticking her finger through the mesh on the side of the cage and wiggling it about, "are small enough that other animals can't get them when they're trapped!" Addy never thought she would be so excited about hunting. Killing things, even rodents, had never sat well with the healer for obvious reasons. However, not killing things and therefore not earning her keep (when she wasn't a full healer and hunted with her sister, that is) had never sat well with her either. Caught between a rock and a hard place, the dellimma had always eaten away at Addy's conscious. "You thought of this for me?" She was touched. In a world such as theirs, those who couldn't provide for themselves were left behind. Drudges were the perfect example of this. According to their own systems, Addy wasn't of Endal quality, not really. From the healers standpoint, however, things worked a little differently. Though she couldn't preform the way normal Endal did, she and Sira had a wonderful opportunity on their hands to open the eyes of their fellow Inarta and start introducing some new ideas. They just had to come up with those idea's first. With a pair of traps apiece, that women began their trudge through the woods. Sira needn't worry about Addy seeing through her lightly veiled intentions; The healer was too caught up in her touched feelings to focus on the subtle cues in Sira's voice that gave the Kelvic away. Addy was bad like that with her emotional and mental tunnel vision. "Keep your eyes out for holes, game trails, things like that." Nodding her understanding, Addy turned her eyes to the quickly darkening forest floor. "We need to hurry. It'll be too dark soon." Putting voice to Sira's own worries, Addy made them pick up the pace. She quickened enough that eventually she was walking in front of Sira. With her nose practically to the ground as she looked for little rodent burrows, the healer had to spin quickly and tip toe back to Sira when the first hole was spotted. Alright, I'll try. Your vision is so much better than my own, I don't think you realize how dark it is right now. Even her mental voice was a whisper, forgetting that the animals couldn't hear them speak through their bond. Returning to her hunched position, Addy watched the ground carefully. It wasn't long before they happened upon another hole. Motioning for Sira to join her, Addy set down both of her traps. So I just face this towards the hole Moving a few sticks out of the way to make a level patch of ground, Addy gently placed the trap to the left of the little hole. Hold back the door... This was locked into place with a tiny metallic snap, and place these here... The shavings were placed on the weighted plate. "Tada!" Standing back up and proud as all heck, Addy turned grinning towards Sira. At her exclimation, however, there was a quick rustling in the leaves behind her. The rabbit whose burrow they had just trapped had peeked his nose out at the smell of the fresh veggies, and at the sound of Addy's voice bolted off in the opposite direction. "Oh...crap.." Crestfallen, Addy stooped back down next to the metal box. "He's not going to be back, is he? Well, we should move this then." Sticking her hand right into the mouth of the trap, Addy grabbed at the veggies she left there, thinking to reuse them when they reset the trap. However, when the pressure of her fingers were applied to the plate, the gate snapped shut hard on her arm. Crying out in surprise in pain, Addy snatched her arm away and sat down hard in the bracken. "This is a failure. I am hopeless." Turning pathetic, big green eyes up at Sira, the healer stuck out her bottom lip like a child. Giving herself only a moment to wallow in her defeat, Addy was soon back on her feet with a trap in either hand and back on the trail to a new hole. With barely fifteen chimes having passed, Addy had found another rabbit hole and a well worn game trail to place her traps near. Sira still had her one trap left, but night was falling fast. "Dare we place this last one?" Panic was starting to creep back in, the whites of her eyes showing as she glanced into the darkening trees.

[Sira]

Sira couldn't help but laugh at Addy's mishap with the trap. She knew she shouldn't, but it was quite the comical picture and she knew from experience that the trap didn't hurt that bad. Of course Addy gave her the pathetic pouty look and Sira melted before it, sinking to her knees and wrapping Addy in a comforting hug. "Oh, you're doing fine. At least it wasn't a bear trap, right?" Sira rose with the healer and within chimes they were back on the trail, and soon enough Addy had spotted another hole. She set both her traps, a good idea because it almost guaranteed at least one would be successful, and then she turned back to Sira expressing her concerns. Sira could hear the worry in her voice and didn't want to make things worse so immediately she nodded and motioned that they head back. Three traps are good enough. This is just practice anyway, we'd need to set a lot more if we actually wanted to come back with a decent haul. Sira took Addy's hand and started to lead her back, offering her a comforting squeeze. She loved the feel of Addy's hand, so warm and soft and smooth to the touch. As they walked she brought it up to her lips and planted a soft kiss before letting it drop. "We should gather some wood as we go," Sira stated as she stooped to scoop up a branch under her spare arm. "Good thing it hasn't rained much, the fire should he easy to light." Sira looked about with sharp eyes, picking up as many branches and logs as she could carry. Once her arms were full she was content to just walk and listen to the birds. They sung of sleep, but not of danger. Sira was confident there would be no danger during the night, and even if there was she wasn't overly concerned. When they returned to camp Sira immediately started prepping the fire while Addy did whatever she did. Not too long after their return the fire was blazing and Sira was sitting a few feet away from the flames watching as they danced about. "Could you get the rations out, Addy, I'm kind of hungry." Sira had only brought along basic trail rations, so unless Aidara thought to bring something special they would be having a simple meal that night. Sira didn't mind though and when Addy brought her her food she set it aside and pulled the endal down next to her, holding her close and cuddling her as she stared into the flames. Sira knew Addy was probably still worried, even if she didn't voice them. This would be a good experience for her.. assuming nothing bad happened, and Sira didn't think anything would. "Yknow, Addy, you don't have to worry about bears when your with me anyway. I eat bears for breakfast." It was meant to be a joke, of course, but it was also true. Sira had indeed eaten bears before, and she was confident that if one did decide to show it's furry face in their camp she could easily dispose of it. They were dangerous creatures, but all it took was a good grip in her talons and a few beats of her wings and the bear would be out of the picture. She could kill it herself or drop it and let it die that way, but either way she held very little fear for the beasts. They were big, easy targets that were nice and soft in her talons and tasted delicious. A bear would have to be a fool to bother the couple that night.

[Aidara]

"Make sure to grab some tinder as well." Mimicking Sira's stoop, Addy grabbed a branch of her own, and then another, and another. Soon, the little woman's arms were full of goodly sized, dry branches. These, she passed over to Sira, carefully pressing them into her arms. "Actually, I'll grab it if you can manage these." Finding the soft, rather dry moss required her to step off the beaten trail and closely examine the trunks of trees and fallen logs. Here and there she found large patches of soft green moss, but it was much to heavy with moisture; it would take chimes for it to dry out in the heat of a flame, with no possibility of it actually helping start a fire. A few thin, finger length dry twigs were carefully picked from the abundance that was the forest floor. These Addy stowed carefully while she continued her search for the moss. It wasn't until they were almost back to the camp, Sira still sticking to the path while Addy trudged through the brush just a few feet to the left, when she found what she was looking for. It was combination of two fallen trees leaning against a third, making a rough tepee of tangled branches and dying leaves; the ground beneath the fallen trunks was sheltered and dry. Moss had gathered on the underside of the fallen trees, light in color and dry to the touch.This was what Addy carefully peeled off and tucked away with the twigs. Struggling free from the entangled branches, Addy exited the tepee from the opposite side than she entered, and stumbled upon something that would make their night a little better: A blueberry bush. A small smile rushed across her lips as the healer glanced to make sure that Sira was well ahead and towards camp before she knelt by the bush and began removing the berries. Most of the were practically bursting with the ripe juices, and Addy couldn't help but pop a few of the succulent fruits into her mouth. Grasping the hem of her shirt, the berries were dropped into the makeshift pouch that she made, ripened and unripened berries both. She was tempted to strip the bush bare, but knew that if animals didn't have the chance to eat, digest and pass the seeds around the forest, the blueberry population couldn't grow; She was aware of how important it was to let things thrive. It would be nice to come back to this bush in the future and find it having grown even larger. So with a sigh of regret, Addy stopped picking the bush and stood with her shirt swollen with berries. By now Sira was far ahead, and if she had noticed Addy's absence she had equated it to the healer stopping for moss, sticks or something else that didn't pose a threat to her well being. Catching up to Kelvic by the time she reached camp, Addy quickly ducked to the side and stored her prizes in the bowl of a tree where Sira wouldn't see them right away. By the time she returned to their gear, Sira was starting to light the fire- or trying too. Addy let her make a few attempts before kneeling down next to the woman and providing her with the twigs and moss she'd gathered. "This will help it light easier, silly. The wood is dry, your right, but baby flames cant just chew though huge sticks like that right off the bat." Showing Sira how to lay the moss out as a carpet and stack the twigs so that once the spark caught the moss, the oxygen could feed the flame up into the twigs. Once those were burning merrily, Addy left Sira to place the larger sticks on top of the new flame, following her request to grab the rations. Rifling through the crate, Addy found a pouch of an unknown dried meat and some fish that looked rather fresh. A tiny pouch of herbs and salt to spice up the flavor of the fish and a day old loaf of bread was all there was to be found. Good thing she found the berries, because it appeared that Sira was rather unimaginative when it came to dinner. A budding food connoisseur, yet mostly incapable as a cook, Addy reminded herself to teach Sira the finer side of food flavors when they got back home. "A decadent meal we have before us this evening" She teased as appeared a few moments later at the fire. Luckily, Sira had planned ahead enough to bring giant leaves in which they could wrap the fish for cooking. Addy had found a large, flat rock that she placed under the logs and among the coals. Flopping down next to Sira, she sprinkled the fish with the herbs and salt before carefully wrapping the pieces in the thick leaves and tying them shut with a bit of twine. The fish were placed and left to cook while Addy split the bread and meat, handing half to Sira with a smile. "To hold you over while the good stuff cooks." "Yknow, Addy, you don't have to worry about bears when your with me anyway. I eat bears for breakfast." "I know...I know." A blush crept into her cheeks, but it could easily be shrugged off as heat from the fire. "I'm not a baby, I do know nothing is going to happen.. it's just one of those memories that are hard to control." With a smile she allowed herself to be pulled into the cuddle, slipping a small arm around Sira's waist as her head found it's way to her shoulder. "I think.. that if I hadn't completely overgiven, I wouldn't be so worried. It was like the worst case scenario. I'm more worried about something happening to you, and me not being good enough to fix it." Addy had always worn her heart on her sleeve, and she had no qualms about sharing this fear with Sira. The woman wasn't going to think she was weak, nor was she going to shun a fear as sheer foolishness.. unless it was sheer foolishness. Sira had a heart, compassion and love for the little healer. She was strong, powerful in more than one way and very capable of either fighting to protect or flying her away from danger. There really was nothing to be worried about, and Addy told her so. "I know that I am going to be a-okay. You're here after all." When the fish was done, she carefully removed it from the fire, let it cool and served a portion to Sira and herself. The meat was tender and fresh, the flavor only slightly ruined too much salt; the meat was already salty, and Addy had added too much. "It's still rather good though, eh? I might have to start practicing my cooking. It's rather satisfying." The meal was otherwise quiet as the two sat, enjoying each others company and watching the pictures that the flames danced for them. "Wait here..." Food gone and with the pair lounging in contentment, Addy leaned and kissed Sira on the cheek as she rose and stole away to her hidey-hole tree, ignoring Sira's protests as she disappeared into the night. She was only going barely outside of the light of the fire, though since night had fallen, the darkness swallowed her. When she appeared back in the light, her shirt was once again heavy with the dark blue, juicy berries. Spots of green and red showed throughout, as she hadn't picked out the unripened ones yet. "Surprise!" Sitting carefully, Addy poured the treasures into Sira's lap. "Be careful of the green ones. We're going to let them ripen and eat them later!" Grinning broadly, Addy waited for Sira's reaction, completely proud of herself.

[Sira]

Sira sighed away her frustration at lighting the campfire, leaning back and letting Addy take care of it. She realized that this was the first time she and Aidara had ever gone camping together. In the past when Sira had taken overnight trips she usually didn't even bother with a campfire. Being a kelvic meant she could survive on raw food and her feathers kept her nice and warm even in the fall or winter. Luckily Addy seemed to know what she was doing and had the fire burning nicely before too long and had begun cooking their meager portions. Sira smirked at Addy's comment about the food, shrugging dismissively. "Sorry, I couldn't fit the buffet in my bag." Sira cuddled the healer happily as she munched on her bread. Addy's words were not unexpected. Sira knew how traumatizing the hunt had been for her and that she was taking a big step being out in the wild Unforgiving again. Sira was touched that she was willing to make it with her, though she never thought Addy wouldn't go with her anyway. Sira gave Addy a comforting squeeze and leaned her head on the healer's, "If something happens you'll do the best that you can. That's all any of us can do. As long as we try our best there's nothing to be worried about." The dinner passed by in warm silence as the two women munched contentedly on their food. The fish was a bit salty, but it was still very good. The dried meat was rather tough to chew but once she got started Sira found it to be quite juicy and delicious, even if it wasn't the best thing she had ever eaten. Sira was rather satisfied with the meal considering that some nights while on a hunt she ate little more than a loaf of bread if the hunt was going poorly. Her mind wandered back into her past, recalling all the various times she had taken extended hunts. There were too few moments that she hadn't felt alone, even when she was hunting with other Endal. Sira would try to blend in with them, but they never treated her like one of them and Sira most often ended up in a dark corner of the camp by herself. Things were different now. Sira had Addy, which meant she never had to be alone, but beyond that it seemed the rest of the Endals were finally accepting her as one of them. Sira had finally earned the respect of her peers. When Addy disappeared into the darkness Sira wondered what she might be planning. When the healer returned with the berries Sira's eyes lit up, picking a berry out of her lap and holding it delicately between two fingers. "Addy, whenever did you find these? I know you didn't pack them." Sira popped one of the berries into her mouth and her face seemed to melt as the tart sweet flavor took over. It was delicious and she quickly ate a couple more before playfully holding one out to feed to Addy.

[Aidara]

Of course, Addy couldn't help but throw in a little sex tease. Leaning forward, she wrapped her lips around Sira's fingers, suckling gently while her tongue flicked the berry from Sira's grasp and into her mouth. Green eyes locked Sira's golden ones as she gently grasped her wrist, slowly pulling her fingers from her mouth with a final lick to the very tips. Smirking softly and tossing the other woman a wink, Addy leaned back on her elbows.

"Lets go into the tent. I can think of a couple things that will make you forget where I go the berries from. But don't worry, they won't be going to waste." Standing, Addy held out her hand to help Sira up. Keeping the hem of her shirt carefully tucked up so that the berries would not spill, Addy scampered into the tent.

Lounging on the furs as she waited for Sira to join her, the little woman popped a few juicy berries into her mouth. She crushed one between her lips for fun, surprised when the berry exploded juice all down her chin. By the time Sira appeared, Addy was laughing and covered in the sticky sweetness.

Moving over so that Sira could join her, Addy took her turn of offering a berry to her love. Smiling and hoping that Sira would think of an ingenious way of taking the fruit from between her fingertips, a rustling outside the tent caused the womas head to snap around in alarm.

"What was that?" Despite the reassurances that there was nothing bad going to happen while Sira was around, the shadow that crossed over them made the womans heart beat a little faster. It only took a few moments for Sira to calm her down, and Addy was just laying back down on their furs when the warm glow of the fire was suddenly extinguished.

Flying to her feet, Addy braced herself, grabbing a random sharp stone that had made it's way into their sleeping space and facing the tent flap.

"No. There is definitely something out there."

[Sira]

Sira had a number of options before her, some sexier than others, but all sure to please the eagerly waiting Aidara. She was covered in delicious sweetness and Sira could imagine herself licking it all off and maybe spreading some more over the rest of her body so she could lick that clean too. But that didn't take care of the matter before her, the berry that was being held out wo teasingly between them. It had to be dealt with in a manner most seductive. As Sira leaned forward to take the fruit there was a noise outside the tent causing Addy to jump in surprise. The berry was lost, but Addy was frantic and Sira had to calm her down. "It's okay, Addy, it was probably just a raccoon or something looking for leftovers, nothing to worry about." Sira picked up one of the fallen berries that had been scattered during Aidara's frantic movements and held it up to Addy's lips. "Don't let a little raccoon ruin our fun now." She pulled the berry away from Addy's mouth and "hopped" it down to her chin, then over it as it crept slowly down her neck. Sira's hand laid itself in Aidara's thigh as the berry slowly made it's way down the healer's neck, hopping over the collar of her shirt and inching it's way down between her breasts and on down towards the hem of her shirt. "Now where oh where should this berry stop, I wonder?" Sira stopped working her way down and lifted the berry back up to Addy's lips. "Here?" She shook her head and moved the berry down, lifting Addy's shirt with her other hand, and put the berry over her navel. "Here?" Sira shook her head as her hand started to move lower, the tips of her fingers just slipping under the hem of Addy's bryda, "Or maybe.." Everything went dark, and even Sira jumped at that. "No. There is definitely something out there." Sira couldn't disagree, but what would have done that to the fire? No animal would have approached a burning fire, much less put it out. It wasn't what was out there, it was who. Sira quickly calculated in her mind their chances. Her sword and bow were somewhere outside the tent, so if there was a person out there it was highly likely they had already hidden the weapons. Sira had a small amount of hand to hand training, but nothing that would be of much use in a real fight, so just to be safe she began pulling off her vinati and tossed it aside. After that she stood up in the tent and slipped off her bryda before whispering, "Wait here," and slipping outside. She was ready to shift at a moment's notice, which was why she had stripped, but Sira could see nothing moving about in the shadows of the campsite. Her eyes weren't the keenest at night, but Leth cast a pale glow over the forest and Sira was fairly certain they were alone. First she went to gather their weapons, which had been undisturbed, and then she called out to Aidara. "It's clear, come on out." Sira walked over to the fire and knelt next to it, noticing that it had been completely smothered in dirt. "Strange... why would someone come into our camp just to put out our fire and then not even take anything?" OOCSo feel free to have Addy find the next clue, whatever you want it to be.

[Aidara]

Though she tried to be strong, Addy ended up watching from between the tent flaps like a scared little child.

When Sira called the clear, Addy shook the shivers from her spine and stood up straight, walking out into the middle of camp like she hadn't just been shaking in her boots. "Nothing at all? I think that's a worse find than all of our stuff destroyed."

It was true. Addy could see the unease in Sira's eyes, and had possibly heard a hint of it in her voice. Both of them had had traumatic experiences in the woods and well.. it wouldn't be a very bright idea to bring that back up now. "Are you sure we...maybe shouldn't look around some more? Just to make sure?" Her gaze had flickered to the heavily smoking fire. Odd, it hadn't been smoking that much even when it was lit and cooking their meal.

Stepping closer, Addy coughed and sputtered as she stuck her head into the thick, dark air over their fire, trying to wave the smoke away so she could see clearly. And when she finally managed a glimpse at the ground, her heart dropped a little further into her stomach. Though Sira had already inspected the fire, Addy wasn't aware of that. "It's not wet. The fire is covered in dirt. Something...someone.. put out the fire. But it went out like someone poured water on the fire....not dirt." It didn't make sense. When sabotaging someone's camp, you always wet the fire. Everyone knew that. It ruined it better than dirt.

Calm. Stay calm. It could mean more than one thing. "This could be bad, very very bad. Oooooh what are we going to do?" CALM!

But despite her mental assurances, Addy wasn't calm. Upon her discovery, she went from very still and quiet to racing around the camp site within a few short chimes. "There has to be some kind of tell. There has to be something they left behind. What if they left a trap? Are you sure they didn't take anything? Everything is still here? What if they wanted us to come out so they could steal our furs or our clothes? What if..." She kept going, each of her "what ifs" more ridiculous than the next. There was only one thing that was consistent: It was clear that Addy thought this was the works of a person, not an animal.

Whether she consciously made that decision or not, even she didn't take the time to pause and figure out. Instead, she was a woman on a mission, scouring the campsite and the surrounding tree line for any clues at all, all the while rambling at Sira.

"There is a footprint. It's human." And all at once she stopped talking, just standing and pointing at her discovery while her eyes sought her love. "Sira, it's a footprint. And it's not ours. We were wearing shoes."