Just Wait (Jaeden)

by **Aello** on January 17th, 2012, 12:05 am

Aello simply nodded as she set her stuff down a few feet away from where Jaeden was resting. "Sure enough," the woman responded with a small shrug, as she rounded on the branches Jaeden had indicated. She bent over, pushing their ends together, until they all matched up. She could see that some of them were far taller than others, which, according to her companion, simply would not do. Sighing, the girl pulled her dagger out of its sheath, and set about freeing the first branch from its stem. She braced its middle with her right hand, as she sawed through the slender thing with her dagger. When she had finished, she got up and pushed all the sticks back together, so that their tops matched up, as opposed to the stems she had been directed to sever. As soon as she had, she set about cutting everything at the same length, before nodding as Jaeden kept on explaining. "Sounds good. I don't really think they're like the knights though, carrying around that heavy armor... they tend to travel a bit lighter, so we may wind up being a bit luckier than you expect," Aello commented, as she sat herself down beside Jaeden, and pulled one of the sticks into her lap.

Aello braced the stick with her left hand, held close to the severed stem, her right hand held the dagger as the girl shook her head lightly. "Not too sure, it depends, I think, at least in part, on where my two companions would like to go," Aello explained, "if they had any sort of home before we met in Ravok, and came to this," she added, as she drew the sharp side of her dagger against the wood, peeling a way small shreds of it. She drew her dagger up, and away, into the air, before bringing it back and repeating the process. Roughly cutting away at it, at a sort of slant. Bringing a single end to a point, before twirling the wood in her hand, and starting in on the next section. "What about you, where do you and Red intend on going?" Aello asked. "With a world so vast, there are simply too many places to choose from it seems," the girl finished with a small smile, as she chipped away at the stick, freeing several small shavings, which fluttered away on the wind, as though it were dust, or settled in the folds of her dress.

"Places near. Places far. Places with cold climes, and warmer ones. Inviting people, and those who would destroy you if you came near..."

by **Jaeden Kincade** on January 20th, 2012, 7:54 pm

Jaeden soon moved from sharpening arrows to grabbing several six foot branches. Using vines, he began lashing two ends together, as the branches formed a “V” shape before a two foot stick, tied down to the open spacing further up the branches, was used to keep the two long branches in that shape. “Don’t know for certain, to be honest.” Jaeden said to Aello, finishing up with the first and gathering pieces for the second rack for his trap. “I was a wanderer for the better part of five years after I had finished training under my mentor. I’ve seen most of the world already.”

Jaeden paused for a moment, as he began tying down one of the crude bows to the rack he had just constructed, making sure things fit together well enough. “Though not all over the place. Still, the slavers that come in and out of Ravok and around these wilds are starting to become a little too familiar with Red and I.” Jaeden exclaimed, as he began constructing another rack, visually showing Aello the steps in doing so if she wished to help in such. “One more trip to Syliras I suspect, then it’s likely Red and I will be heading to lands I haven’t visited yet. Pick up some familiarity in wilderness survival of other landscapes. Chances are I’ll come back to this region though sometime. I have a lot of roots here, after all.”

Jaeden’s ears twitched at the slight sound of snapping twigs and dried leaves under tiny feet. He slowly turned his head, already knowing who it was who approached. A moment later, the small paws and streak of colorful fur appeared at the edge of the camp, showing Red had reappeared. “Manage to sniff anything out, hun?” Jaeden asked as he began putting together the third rack.

A flash of golden light and Red was soon back in human form, walking across the camp in the nude to retrieve her clothing. “I did.” Red exclaimed as she began slipping on her pants first off. “At least eight different scents along Aello’s path here are approaching. Her trail has faded a little I suspect due to time and wild animals crossing it, but they’re still on it. I managed to sneak in a little closer to have a look at them, and they did, indeed, look like unsavory individuals.”

Jaeden gave a slow nod, looking up to Red as he continued putting together the rack. “How long did it take for you to travel back from where you last saw them?” Jaeden then asked.

“About two bells, most of the way running.” Red answered.

“And their travel speed?” Jaeden said, putting another rack along the ground, tying the bow to it.

“Don’t know for certain, but they were on foot, and their tracker was traveling at about a third of your speed when you track.” Red answered.

“He’s not quite as good as me then. That’s good at least.” Jaeden exclaimed as he hunched forward, tapping his chin slightly in silent though as he stared over the traps he had made so far. “Depends on whether they’re keeping to the trail fully, or taking a heading, fast traveling, then stopping to check and make sure they’re still on the trail.”

Jaeden then fell silent again, beginning to put together the forth rack in the series as he gave a nod. “Based on Red’s travel speed when she’s a fox, I figure we have about three bells, four tops, before they arrive.” Jaeden said to both Aello and Red. “That’s plenty of time. Though I won’t be able to create that deadfall trap I wanted to. Wouldn’t be able to dig a hole fast enough. So, these bow traps can then just add to our initial attack.”

Jaeden then slowly looked up to Aello. “Alrighty, let’s finish these up and then go scout a place.” Jaeden said. “We’ll kill the fires in about a bell, and pick a location about a half mile from camp.”

by **Aello** on January 21st, 2012, 7:33 pm

Aello nodded as she finished sharpening her first stick and moved onto another. Drawing her blade across it with deliberate swipes, which slowly shaved away at the rough bark, creating a pile of wispy tan by her feet. "That sounds like a good idea," Aello whispered, as her ears prickled. She could hear footsteps growing stronger, but with Jaeden so nearby, and seemingly carefree, the girl forced herself to dismiss them. If he thought it not worth worrying about, then it was more than likely so. Perhaps even his companion come back to offer a report.

As Red approached, Aello looked up from her work a moment, before returning to it. Turning the stick, carving away at another portion, slowly, methodically, as she listened. "Only eight?" Aello whispered somewhat absently. "Pity, and here I'd thought they would have sent at least fifteen," she added, as she drew her dagger along, her muscles growing tense, and then somewhat loose as she listened. She couldn't say there was much she wanted to ask, or much that needed any clarification, but there were a few things weighing on her mind.

"Which direction are they coming from?" Aello asked as she dropped her stick and reached for another to sharpen. "Need to know for when we spy on their advance, without getting too close. Within a few bells or so; should get a read long before they rear their ugly heads," she explained, as she slowed down the process of her movements, lengthening the sound of the grating, the subtle scrape of metal against earth. "Just so we know what we're up against. Catch anything you may have missed in your hurry."

Aello shrugged, "as long as they don't have any aurists..." she whispered to herself, as she listened to Jaeden's deductions, and twisted her stick around, picking up speed again as she sharpened the stick as though it were an oversized pencil. "Sounds like a good idea," the girl muttered, as she went about finishing her work on everything else Jaeden had wanted done. As soon as she had, she sheathed her dagger, and looked up.

"Whenever you're ready we can head out," Aello called, as she got to her feet, and picked up everything she had carved for Jaeden's traps. Holding them under her arm as though they were nothing more than an oversized pile of firewood. "We can start in that direction," Aello went on, as she pointed with a flick of her chin, "if you'd like. It seems to be where some of the better hiding places are. Although, that isn't to say we should discount anywhere else, if the lay of the land is better. A good tree may always be found in a forest, I'd guess," the girl finished with a shrug, as she took a few steps forward.

"Mind your head alright?" Aello suggested with a small smile. "Wouldn't want to be hurting yourself now before all the fun," she added, as she glanced over her shoulder and offered a small wink, before moving on into the line of trees.

by **Jaeden Kincade** on January 26th, 2012, 2:28 am

Jaeden gave a slow nod, collecting all of his parts as he stood, finishing the last of the suspension constructs. He then looked one last time towards the sky, keeping note of any possible weather that might have been approaching. “Eight in all, approaching from the north. Didn’t catch any other scents if they were hiding.” Red then began looking over to Aello, beginning to address her question. “All of them wore light armors. Leathers. Cloths. Nothing metal that I could see unless they were wearing such against their skin. Only one of them didn’t seem to carry any weapons at all. Two of them, including the tracker, held bows. One a crossbow. The last four carried blades. Longswords, by the looks of one. Curved blades for one individual. They didn’t walk single file or anything like that. Mainly a little scattered. Sort of like just small patches of them sticking closer to some than others, as they had some sort of idle conversation. Only the tracker and the one with the curved blades seemed to be somewhat observant of their surroundings.”

“Well, that’s fair news then.” Jaeden commented, handing a couple of the items to Red to help carry. “Means they’ll be more vulnerable to a surprise.”

Jaeden then slowly began approaching Aello’s trail, his eyes gazing over the surroundings as he did so. “I’ll have you in my line of site from where I’ll stand Aello,” Jaeden then commented. “If you see stragglers who are out of sight and were staying downwind of Red so they could flank, give me a finger count of how many beyond eight that you pick up.”

It took them about a quarter of a chime before Jaeden found a clearing that was suitable for both traps and vantage point for Aello’s perching spot in the trees. The clearing had a small grouping of trees as shrugs and other bushes lined in between them. Jaeden finally gave a nod, exhaling slightly as he looked back to Red and Aello. “Okay, this will do.” Jaeden said, laying his bundle down along the southern edge of the clearing. “Don’t cross the tracks in the clearing, or at the northern edge. If you need to the come to the other side, walk around the south side.”

Jaeden then handed three of the support racks to Red and Aello. “Set three of them up on the west side, I’ll set them up along the east. Behind the thin shrubs. They’ll be propped up by the branches you were carving back at camp Aello.” Jaeden began to explain before handing her three of the crudely made bows. “The bows themselves will be tied down to the racks. Have them all aimed towards the center of the clearing. After I’ve gotten mine set up, I’ll begin setting up their triggers. Instead of a trip line, though, I’ll just rig the traps to a fixed line, which will be yanked by me. Once those bows loose, that’ll be the first shot which will start everything. When the traps are set up, we can take a few chimes to go over things one last time before we each take our respective places.”

“Any questions before we get started?” Jaeden then asked.

by **Aello** on January 26th, 2012, 8:53 pm

Aello simply nodded as she continued onwards. "Doesn't mean they don't wield magic too," Aello muttered with a few shakes of her head, thinking it too early to determine whether or not Red's report truly was good news. But no matter, we'll all know soon enough, won't we? Aello thought, as she nodded to Jaeden as he approached her with more plans. "After we get these things set up, they should be in range, or close enough where I can scout a bit, and pick everything Red didn't up." She smiled weakly as she picked up the pace, and moved alongside Jaeden until he told their small contingent to stop, at which point, with a sigh, Aello put everything down on the ground, rather gingerly, as though worried the sharpened sticks would snap.

As she straightened herself out, the aurist simply listened in silence, and took everything the man handed her. "Sounds good, come on Red, lets get these things up, alright?" Aello said, as she picked up her bundle of things again, and moved off to the side where Jaeden was not setting up his traps. She smiled weakly at the Kelvic, as she began to draw bits of wood together, and set them up in their proper place, only to have Red sometimes tear it apart and start over when it wasn't suitable, or tell her to move it a bit to the left or right, so as to be a better trap for their opponents. After a few chimes, the girls seemed to finish, and smiling at their work, turned back to Jaeden.

"What now?" Aello called. "Should we scout, or are you sending me up into one of the nearby trees?" The girl paused, her head tilting to the side a bit, as she awaited an answer, and her magic came forth, illuminating the forest in a series of greens and reds. Smiling at the sight, the vibrant nature of it all, Aello willed it farther into the distance, causing the colors to leap from one portion of the forest to another as they dove deeper. As they kept on searching for something, anything even remotely human. For a long time, they found nothing, until, after a time, to the far east of their current location, Aello found two people.

The first had a simple aura, of muted earth tones. It smelled strongly of freshly clipped grass and mud, and if the aurist truly bothered to look, she'd notice a series of prints. Things that looked as though they had been left by the underside of one's boot, and others which looked like they could be paws, or of a hoofed creature. She could hear the whistling of the wind, and see a blaze cast by an arrow lit on fire soaring across the night sky. Instantly, Aello knew that this man was the enemy's tracker. She could sense his growing level of confidence, as he moved slowly but steadily across the forest floor. His body crouched, his eyes darting back and forth as he pointed to a series of tracks. Following them, always them, and never anything else scattered nearby, for he wasn't hunting animals, he was hunting a human. She could see, even from where she stood, that he was determined. She could see a flash of metal, glowing within the confines of his boot. A small blade, which seemed to carry the scent of mint, and perhaps lavender, as though he had used it to cut herbs recently.

Next, nearby this tracker, the girl's magic illuminated another figure. Another man, one whose curved blades rested in his fists. His aura was dark, a mixture of deep red and black mist, with silver patches that sparkled like the stars. She could see dark lines etched across his skin, as though his skin had been split there, leaving nasty scars behind. Not the fading white sort, but the sort that left a dried track of blood behind. He is like you, her mind whispered. Cold, and dark. Mysterious, a magician, who knows his way around his art, well enough. He uses as you do. He is as you are. Everything he wields is the same, and yet, it is not there. Aello's brow furrowed as she listened, the wind tousling her hair as she stared into the distance, her pupils dilating, as she forced herself to look at Jaeden, not so sure he had bothered to say anything.

"Because they're coming... the tracker and your friend with the curved blades," Aello whispered. "To the east," she added, as she watched the man's aura pulse, as though it were his heart beating. She thought she could hear it thumbing, with excitement at having drawn closer. Having drawn near. "They seem to be by themselves, for the others are no where to be found. Perhaps they follow, or come from another way," Aello explained with a shrug, as she turned to Red. "The tracker uses the bow you saw. A shorter one like mine to kill at a distance. Although, he has a knife buried in his left boot. It wreaks of plants, whether he uses it to kill or not remains unclear." Aello sighed. "The one who is with him only has two blades, held in his fists. Scars across his skin, towards the center of his chest, and upper portions of his legs. They are weak spots, exploit them, before he can exploit your own faults... he uses auristics, he should know some of them, if he catches sight of you."

Everything Aello said seemed to come out in a whisper. Her voice seemed as far off and lost in her own world as she. "But he is not as strong as I am... more than likely good with feeling, and magic wielders, and little else..."

Aello's voice trailed off as she turned to Jaeden, and slowly, raised her right hand before her face. She left her fingers together, her palm directed at her, as she slowly wound it in a circle, closing her eyes and concentrating. She knew she couldn't hide herself completely, with the men on her trail. They would know she was up to something, but she could manipulate a few things. First, she drew all of her apprehension and fear away. Directing the yellow and the light blue mist into her hand. She filled her aura instead, with a confident violet. Imagined herself as calm. After a time, she imagined her aura shrinking. Shriveling, turning in on itself until it was no more. Smiling, she lowered her hand, and opened her eyes, calling the colors closer, she let them settle on her companions.

Slowly, Aello strode towards Jaeden. "Don't move," she whispered. "I want to try something to hide you from his prying eyes... I have never tried it before though, so it may hurt, or feel weird. Please don't be alarmed." With that, Aello raised both of her hands, and pressed them into his cheek's holding them lightly. Her thumbs danced across their expanse as she closed her eyes, and took a deep cleansing breath, in through the nose, and out through the mouth. After a moment, she imagined his deep red aura shrinking. Forming a thin, protective layer around his skin, before slowly sinking away into oblivion, much as her aura had done. She concentrated on this image of nothingness for several chimes, before slowly drawing her hands away, her brow furrowing in frustration, even before she had opened her eyes, for she knew she had failed.

"I'm sorry," Aello whispered. "It doesn't seem to be working. Perhaps it only works on those who know... or... maybe I'm not strong enough. Or doing it wrong." Biting her bottom lip nervously, Aello shook her head lightly, tossing several strands of her long brown hair across her cheeks. She took a step away from Jaeden, and stared down at the ground. She didn't understand how they would maintain the element of surprise when the enemy had an aurist at their disposal, and she couldn't suppress Jaeden's or Red's. They would know then, that she wasn't alone, and know to be prepared, unless she could hide them rather well, or make them think she was someone she was not. She could hide herself, and they would know she traveled with two Kelvics. Perhaps they would think Red to be herself, or even Alenias, and Jaeden, Nex. Or perhaps they wouldn't. Aello simply couldn't be sure, she'd have to wait and see.

"Come," Aello instructed, "we need to prepare... I'll keep an eye out for the others while we move." As soon as the words left her lips, Aello stepped away, her head hung in defeat.

by **Jaeden Kincade** on January 28th, 2012, 2:58 am

Jaeden had just finished setting the last of the triggers for his bow traps by the time Aello had approached, for the most part simply nodding and giving short “Mhmm’s” when she mentioned something. He looked down into her eyes for a moment when she spoke of attempting such, his head shying away a moment when she reached up for his cheeks. Though it wasn’t the fact that it might have hurt or felt weird that caused him to shy away, it was the physical contact in of itself that did. Physical contact often meant for him a change in self, making him a slave to other’s desires. It was a small habit he had developed not too long ago. His eye then just closed, and he focused his being on Red’s desires. The desires she so often had of him to simply be himself. He could always trust in them, and no other desires could sway him over them.

Jaeden then felt a twinge of what Aello had warned. A shiver running up his spine, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up on end. It was as if he had just seen a ghost. Or stepped into a cold puddle of water while wearing socks, take your pick. But that feeling soon passed, and Jaeden felt no different than he had before. As well, all it took was the disappointment in Aello’s voice to know he was no different than before.

As soon as Aello turned and began stepping away, her head lowered, Jaeden’s hand reached out, grasping her wrist and halting her movements for a moment. “Hey, don’t worry about it.” Jaeden then simply said, stepping around in front of her. “If it didn’t work, you know it’s not the end. We’re not dead, and we’re not defeated yet.”

Jaeden slowly released his grasp along her wrist then, looking her in the eyes. “Even if there is no surprise coming to them because of this Aurist, it doesn’t mean we face the impossible. We just face the improbable.” Jaeden explained, his pupils shifting back and forth between Aello’s own in his gaze. “Two of them seemed skilled, this is true enough. That doesn’t necessarily mean they all are.”

“If we can’t surprise them, just make sure they can’t surprise us. Keep that sight of your own handy and make sure they aren't coming up from behind us or something.” Jaeden suggested then. “These two aren’t going to come after you alone, and they’re definitely not going to approach if they know you have company with you, which would mean they’ve split off the others as a means of flanking.”

Jaeden then just smirked, looking over his traps. “Most of what makes up my traps are made of natural things gathered from this forest.” Jaeden explained, motioning towards the bow traps. “If the Aurist in their group isn’t that experienced, the colors of auras tend to be blurred, have no real definable shape, especially for beginners who can only concentrate on one aura at a time, right?” Jaeden continued, blinking a little rapidly now as magical knowledge from The Game on personal magics began to swirl around in his head, unlocking itself. “Don’t ask me how I know, now’s not that time anyhow. What is important, in the end, is the fact that, despite being an Aurist, he may still not be able to see the traps. Especially if all he’s searching for is your aura. To him, they could just simply resemble another group of foliage.”

“In the end, if they pause, I’m betting it’s because they spotted one of our auras first, before those of the traps.” Jaeden suggested, then looking further ahead. “Otherwise, what I suggest, is we position ourselves further up ahead, play hit and run, and make them chase one of us to the kill box. They’re all set up already, may as well see if they will be of some use.”

Jaeden’s hands then fell to a rest at his hips as he looked back to Aello. “I’m open to other suggestions considering time is limited, but I recall you snarling at me that you would die before you resign yourself to giving up and surrendering.” Jaeden then said, cocking a brow. “Get that fire lit under your nicely shaped ass, and don’t let disappointment dwindle such. The fire, or your ass.”

by **Aello** on January 29th, 2012, 12:45 am

Aello paused as Jaeden's fingers wound around her slender wrist. "Those two are probably the weakest in the pack," Aello whispered, as the man continued to share his thoughts. She shook her head lightly as Jaeden began to speak about her craft. "No, not necessarily. I remember being a novice, vaguely, back in Zeltiva. It was difficult to pick anything up from anybody. You could only really see color; emotion, pick up on basic information. But you were lucky, I'd suppose, to know the subtle differences in the shades. The colors. For a slight hint of something, can mean the opposite of what you think it would mean in an aura." Aello paused. "I never said he was a novice though... only that he was weaker than me." Aello smiled weakly, "it's difficult to say then, how much that means. I have come a long way from being a novice."

Aello fell silent after that, simply listening. "Lets go find me a tree then," she whispered, as she moved along in the direction Jaeden had indicated, just to be sure they could find a place for him and Red to make a stand. A place which Aello could easily rain arrows down upon from her perch.

After a time, Aello peered off towards the north-east. "The rest of them are down there," Aello whispered, as she pointed off in that direction, surprised that their enemy was getting so near that she hardly had to bother with her magic, whisking it away from her. She simply stared at the far off, glowing trees, as the first aura lit up, around an archer. A female, whose bow was of a greater length than her own. As she stared at the woman, whose hair seemed to swish back and forth in a tightly-kept ponytail, Aello couldn't help but smile. She could see snakes winding themselves around her. Hear them hissing, shaking their tails, producing a low, rhythmic rattling sound. She could sense too, in the recesses of the woman's aura, a glimmer of magic. A twinkle. The art of old. Projection; so oft reserved for the Shinya back in Lhavit it seemed.

The next aura belonged to a man nearby the archer. He too, carried a ranged weapon, but a crossbow as opposed to something all the more similar to Aello's weapon. His aura was dark. A shade of black, which largely obscured him from her view. A few steps behind him, stood another man, whose aura was surprisingly similar, so much so, that Aello got the impression that the two were related in some way. Brothers perhaps; twins, or even father and son. Unlike his relative, the second man carried nothing along with him. But, that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous. In fact, Aello could sense that this man, was all the more dangerous than those whose auras she had studied previously, for this man's aura, held a plethora of magic. Things she had seen before, and things she was not so certain about. She saw black voids, and sparkles. Smelled fire and heard water rushing, crashing into a larger pool. She could see a shield hanging in the corner, from his arm. Or rather, hovering in front of his arm.

Sighing, Aello flicked her wrist, and willed her magic over to the last two people in the group. Two swordsmen, one who carried a long sword, the other and even greater sword, something Aello knew, he must have needed two hands to wield. Sighing as she stared at them, she came to realize that these two were probably the least dangerous, for although the man who wielded the over-sized blade used flux, much as her companion Nex, she couldn't hear much in the aura. Not the clash of metal, or a strained grunt from battle. She could not smell anything metallic, signifying that the two had taken blood of late, there was simply nothing.

"A Dhani, if I am not mistaken, with a longbow, who uses projection. A crossbowman, who seems devoid of any magical sense, and his relative. A brother, or perhaps even his father. He carries nothing, and hides naught, but he is skilled with magic. He knows how to link this world to the void, call fire and water forth. He can create shields... and something else, but I'm not so sure what it is." Aello paused as she studied the auras. The colors, all wafting together. Swirling. "There are two swordsmen as well. One with a long sword, who seems to know only that art, and one with a much larger, two-handed weapon, he uses flux." Aello paused, tilting her head slightly to the side, "but that only makes seven..."

As her brow furrowed, Aello flicked her wrist, willing her magic further out, away from the trees, until she caught sight of the last woman. A muscular looking figure. An imposing figure, with a deep red aura that wreaked of blood. Red toadstools flickered across Aello's mind as she caught sight of the knife she had in her boot, and the short sword she held in her fist. It seemed to glow a sickly green, as Aello began to cough. Her eyelids fluttering as she studied the glowing metal sheen, and raised her right hand to the side of her head. She felt dizzy. So surprisingly dizzy, and her heart would not stop pounding, faster and faster. She could hear it drumming as the world spun, and then everything stopped. The world; the colors, being snuffed out in an instant.

There was nothing, only nothing, as Aello fell to the ground. Her body splaying out to the side. Her arrows dripping out of her quiver as she hit the ground hard.

For a few chimes, Aello remained like this, silent and still. Seemingly lifeless on the forest floor. Yet, with the colors gone, her magic away, the girl's eyes started to strain, scrunching tightly, before falling slack. Several slight groans escaped her lips, as the girl rolled over, and finally opened her eyes, peering off into the distance, past the silver cobwebs which seemed to encase everything within her vision. As she slowly eased herself into a sitting position, Aello reached for her bow, which had just escaped her grasp. She stifled a cough. "The last one, a woman, carries a short sword. It is covered in a poison, crafted from some sort of mushroom I think... if she so much as cuts you, you'll be dead within a bell... it stops your heart."

Aello raised her right hand to her aching head, and rubbed it affectionately. "They should all be here within a bell. We should hurry. Come," she said, as she eased herself onto her feet, careful not to let her companions see how much it pained her to move.

by **Jaeden Kincade** on February 4th, 2012, 3:12 am

Jaeden slowly reached up, pinching the upper bridge of his nose lightly with the thumb and index finger of a gloved, right hand as his brow slowly formed a knot along the ridge. That frown grew increasingly deep with each of the individuals Aello described. Finally, a long exhale was released as she finished with the last one, his hand dropping into his lap as he put the finishing touches to his bow traps, slowly standing up.

“Well, sweet Caiyha’s tits, Aello.” Jaeden then suddenly said, sliding his dagger back into it’s sheath. “What’d you do to piss off Ravok so much, rally for a Sylir/Gnora Charity Fund for the Enslaved in the middle of Ravok’s busiest section of town?”

Jaeden slowly reached down, unclasping the cover to his quiver of arrows. “Whoever sent this group after you must have paid out close to one thousand gold mizas. I’ve never even heard of a group being so stacked in magic outside of Sahova.” Jaeden went on, slipping his bow free from his shoulder. “At least not one that wouldn’t tear itself apart after a week or two together, like a psycho-petch family being overrun by Overgiving induced paranoia.”

“Well, at least we have the saving grace that magic isn’t a quick thing.” Jaeden commented then, looking to Aello. “As well, it seems they’re a little spread out. In order of targets magical, I would say hit the Projection user first, followed by the flux user would be the priorities. The void and element wielder will need time and we can at least see when they’re starting to be brought into play. I can’t see an attack of projection coming, and while I can see someone coming even if they’re using Flux, I likely wouldn’t be able to keep up with their speed. Unless they were entirely pathetic in the use of weapons. Red can pounce the crossbowman as he gets within range.”

Jaeden began moving along with Aello. “We’ll likely have to draw them back to the killzone” Jaeden said, looking back to the area where they had left the traps. “I’ll be the bait.” Jaeden then continued before looking to Aello and Red. “Aello, you should be ready to just cut loose with the arrows on priority targets first, while Red will be the trigger person for the bow traps, releasing the volley and hopefully getting one or two of them who give me chase. I‘m no worried about a poison blade myself. Poison and blades only hurt if they actually hit you, after all.”

Jaeden the looked to Aello, seeing her rub her head. “No more magic for you at this point. We know where their coming from and how long it will take the first two to get here.” Jaeden said, moving over towards her and offering some of his rations to eat. “You already look a little pale and I don’t want you at half strength for this fight.”

Jaeden then gave a small pause of silence, and he released a slow exhale, looking down to the ground. “If things are looking bad, I’ll have one card I can play, but the both of you should be ready to run, as it may turn out to go either way if I do use it. Either in our favor, or in theirs. You’ll know when you see it if I do use it though.”

by **Aello** on February 5th, 2012, 4:49 am

Aello chuckled, "probably even more than that," she whispered as she listened to Jaedan's rant, and finally, took his hand to help herself the rest of the way up. "Thanks," she muttered, as she released Jaeden's hand, and took his offerings rather half-heartedly, nibbling on the edges of a few. Her teeth dragging over what seemed to be dust in her mouth.

Chewing thoughtfully as she nodded at Jaeden's never-ending series of thoughts, Aello ducked back down to gather the few arrows she had lost after she had set the food in her lap, before she straightened herself back out and whispered, "I wasn't planning on using any more, not that sort anyway." She smiled weakly as she forced herself to swallow. The semi-masticated bits of nothing dragging along the inside of her throat. Gathering into a thick ball, a clump, which seemed to stick to the side of her neck, making it all the more difficult for her to catch her breath.

"We'll be fine," Aello went on, her voice sounding as dry as her innards. "We just have to be set up when they get here. Come on. It'd be best not to delay," she added, as she moved past Jaeden and back towards the kill zone. Her grip tightening around the frame of her bow as she eased herself in and out of the line of trees. Sweeping over tree roots, and fallen branches, into the area beyond.

For a few chimes, Aello glided along in silence, until she came to a series of trees whose trunks were about twice as wide as she, and whose branches didn't begin to sprout until the base had stretched at least twenty feet high. Smiling lightly as she took another bite of food, the girl looked up, studying the higher branches, how thick they were. If there were a series of them close together that she could move between in order to escape fire, if she needed to. Only some of the trees were like this. She gestured to each as she turned back to her companions.

"Which one do you think will provide a better angle?" Aello asked, as she looked around again, and forced another bite down, before quickly, finishing everything else before she could really take the time to think about what she was doing. When she finished chewing, she turned away from Jaeden, to the forest floor, the lay of the land, and then, back up at the trees. "We'd best get a rope or something out of that pack of yours as well. There's no way to be climbing a tree with bark as smooth as these. As devoid of limbs. You'll have to help pull me up to get it all done quickly," Aello finished with a small sigh. Another quick glance at her surroundings, as she shifted her footing uneasily.

by **Jaeden Kincade** on February 9th, 2012, 1:49 am

Jaeden slowly slipping his hands out of the loops of his pack, setting it down near the base of the tree. His gaze shifted around the area, looking over the trees, more specifically their limbs and how many leaves had not fallen from them yet. Finally, Jaeden’s gaze fell upon a tree that hand three limbs growing out in almost similar directions, each would rounding the tree, with the next limb a little higher than the previous, and a little further around the trunk of the tree in a counter clockwise direction. The position of the limbs would give a vantage point to the north, east and south, as well as the directions in between. Only the west would remain as a blind spot, which Jaeden and Red would be guarding. “There.” Jaeden said, pointing towards the particular perching point for Aello. “It has relatively good concealment, so that you can get off two or three arrows before they would be able to pinpoint where you’re loosing the arrows from. Save for the one with Auristics of course. As well, the closely grown limbs will allow you to move around the tree and take a certain amount of cover as well as cover one hundred-eighty degrees of the terrain, of which should cover the direction they would be coming from.”

Jaeden slowly pulled out another length of hemp rope, hanging it over his shoulder as he closed up his pack again. “We’ll stick to the original part as I loose and arrow and try to take out their tracker first off.” Jaeden said as he began moving towards the tree. “After the first reaction, their auristic user will likely call to the others to converge, and begin using auristics if he doesn’t have it in use already. Depending on how far their spread out, we’ll have anywhere between five to ten ticks of a chime before they start coming into view. Again, it will depend on who gets there first, but I would like you to hold off your shots until they come into your range. I’ll try to keep their dual wielder busy with arrows of my own to keep him distracted from noticing you so he can’t give out your position.”

Jaeden then let out some slack from his rope, letting it hang in his left hand, the remaining, wound up length still griped in his right hand. “Like I mentioned before, I’d like you to target their projection user first, but such will depend on the order each of them come into range. Use your judgment, but as I said before, I can’t see the attacks that come from the magic of a projectionist, so I’d be at a disadvantage when facing her weapon, and the possible attacks that would be coming at the same time or soon after.” Jaeden explained before tossing the wound up rope length into the air as it made its ascent in an arc towards the tree, falling over two limbs before unraveling towards the ground. Jaeden gave a couple flicks of his end, as the wave of inertia rode up the length of rope, letting even more slack out along the other end of the rope for Aello to grasp. “Red, you’ll be covering the south and south-east, and intercept as well as warn Aello of any trying to circle around and flank us, or come from behind. If push comes to shove, I’ll begin to fall back and lure them towards the trap zone with Red at the trigger.”

Jaeden tied a loop into one end of the rope then for Aello to slip her foot into, before offering it to her. “Anything either of you have to add, want to change, or just plain throw away from this plan, now is the time.” Jaeden commented. “Once you’re up in the tree, we’d have to raise our voices to talk with each other, and sound carries pretty far in this forest.”