Bloody Trap [open]

[DeLuna a' Moon]

TIME STAMP
17th of Spring, 510AV
Evening
[OPEN]

Accompanied by two other figures, Moon crossed the plains on foot, silhouetted by the sun that was slowly beginning its passage beyond the horizon. The two other silhouettes tagging along – one trailing behind and the other leading the trio – were that of a horse and a canine. Amidst terrain that had a tendency to look the same in every direction, a certain familiarity was presented as Moon stopped; glanced around, then changed direction after reaching what seemed to be a landmark to her. Standing behind them as they continued, was a lonely old tree stump being the only evidence of a tree having ever been there.

Her gaze shifted in the direction of the setting sun and then back ahead of her. Darkness was licking at her heels and she still had one other trap to check. The other two had been depressingly empty but hopefully this one would not. She’d found a burrow when she had been putting out a trap that looked rather promising considering about of rabbit poop scattered around the entrance and the claw marks in the clay-like dirt. Better yet, it was large enough to hold one of her smaller traps and still appear somewhat concealed.

It was a couple miles away still so she picked up her pace to try and beat nightfall. The distance was covered quickly and as Moon looked at the large, solitary tree, something seemed amiss. Her pace quickened, alerting her wolf companion to speed ahead of her, he continued past the tree and began sniffing around as per routine as she stopped at its base. What had been waiting for her was a mess. Her trap was destroyed and stained in blood; whatever had been in it was gone.

She knelt down to pick up any recognizable piece of the trap and sigh, tossing whatever she had picked up a short distance away. ”Well someone isn’t going to go hungry tonight.” she growled under her breath and glanced up. ”Looks like we are going to wait until nightfall to see if the creature returns. I’d like to see what destroyed my trap.” she added as Yatueh drew near and sat down across from her.

With that she dismissed both Moonkite and Yatueh to stay nearby. It would be another hour before nightfall and until then she planned to stay hidden up within the canopy of the tree.

[Griffith]

One step, then another. And another. And the next always takes you closer to where you are going.

It was the end of a long day, and the lone Human led his packhorse onward along the caravan road to Riverfall. In the hand which did not grip Ebrah's reins, Griffith held an old, wooden flute. He studied its every detail in the fading light, memory filling in the gaps of what could no longer be made out. The instrument had been a rarity in Ekytol, and his father had been amongst the few in the Tent who knew how to use it. None of that skill had been inherited by his youngest son, however. The exact problem had never been determined, but the Benshira was an awful singer as well, so the leading explanation had been simple tone-deafness.

The young man released his hold on Ebrah's bridle, knowing the Zavian would continue to walk without direction. He raised the flute to his lips, blowing air through it and letting his fingers play over the holes as he walked. Of course, there was no melody to the noise produced; the twenty-one year-old tried to string notes together, but none of his own practicing whilst growing up had made him truly any better with the tool.

After several minutes of fumbling and trying to piece together even a simple string, Griffith sighed and lowered the flute. Still nothing. Why did he even bother anymore?

He looped a finger through his horse's reins, bringing it to a halt. He opened one of the saddlebags on the side of the seldom-used saddle, storing the flute there. He opened another bag, checking on the results of the day's hunt. The bad contained a single, intact rabbit carcass. The cause of death was a speeding lead bullet to the head.

It had to be the luckiest shot the Benshira had ever managed. As with so many other things related to his people, Griffith possessed zero natural talent with the use of a sling, and he had only ever practiced it because it could be essential to his own survival someday. And... Well, that was another matter...

Closing the saddlebag, the young man resumed walking, leading his horse once more. There was a great tree up ahead, and the Benshira picked up the pace ever so slightly, hoping to stop and rest both himself and Ebrah beneath the shade it offered until the sun began to set. Then the earth would cool, and they could be off again. It might not be pitch black out before he made it back to Riverfall...

[DeLuna a' Moon]

Spring meant one good thing for the few trees in the sea of grass, roughage. It provided shade, protection, and coverage. And not just for her, either. Once she’d climbed up into the tree with little to no problem, the tree had been discovered to be filled with life outside of itself. There weren’t very many trees of this size, so birds reveled in vibrant and lively song. It made Moon smile as she found herself a reasonably low branch that shielded her from being seen but allowed her a slightly filtered view of what was below her.

Her mind swayed slightly, having situated herself comfortably on the wide limb. Moon’s posture was much like that of a lazy cat lounging with its eyes closed but ears alert. She was on her stomach, her legs slightly straddling the limb with one leg hanging and the other propped up. Her arms were crossed atop the limb and acted as a place to rest her head as she closed her eyes. The sounds around her were serene and familiar; familiar enough to know when something was out of place.

Is if on cue, a strain whining sound drifted it’s way to her. Her brows furrowed in slight concern as it sounded like an injured animal before it stopped quite suddenly. She opened her eyes and sat up and let her legs hang on either side of the limb beneath her as she raised her arms and the muscles in her stomach contracted and tensed, she made a slight purring sound as she stretched. She braced her hands on the limb, gripping it tightly and using a large amount of balance to lift her knees up; she tucked her knees and placed her feet on the limb with a familiar smile.

She walked to the base and leaned against it as she peered out through the leaves just as a figure… two figures came into view. A slightly thoughtful look crossed her features and she heard a low growl from somewhere in the brush that she recognized as Yatueh’s warning that something was approaching. Good boy... she thought to herself as she crouched, grabbed another branch and swung herself over, landing lightly enough to avoid any disturbance as this strange man came into view just below her at the tree’s base. He was on the opposite side from where her bloodied trap lay and so she didn’t suspect him as the one to have destroyed it since he wasn’t ‘admiring’ his work.

It took a moment to observe him and realize he had no outrageously alarming weapon on him, but a curious rod-like one. His companion made her smile slightly as she shifted into a crouching position and stayed there for a moment while he got himself situated. Once he was in place for a good few minutes, it was very apparent that he was not from these places for two reasons. He didn’t look up into the tree, nor did he even consider climbing in it.

Moon couldn’t resist any longer and eventually grabbed hold of the limb with her hands and let her body drop below the branch. She hung there for the briefest of moments and let herself drop a few yards ahead of the strange man. Very little sound was made and she remained in a catlike position and looked at him with a slightly tilted head and then looked to his horse.

Her green gaze wandered back to him and she moved towards him with a slightly wary position but a completely curious expression. She got a few feet away from him an reached out a moment but thought better of it before standing and wandering distance away from him again to go visit his horse. She cooed and purred to the animal gingerly, running her hands along its neck and speaking a strange language to it.

[Glayce Lightstorm]

Glayce’s hunt had been more successful than she had expected. Not that it bothered her, although she wondered what would happen with the second rabbit. She would have fed it Teval, but he didn’t seem too keen to try bloody and furry meat. Certainly rabbits weren’t to everyone’s liking, although the exemplars found in the Sea of Grass were very delicious. Glayce hadn’t really planned to shoot two; rather she had happened to come across a second exemplar and since her shortbow was still stringed and there were arrows aplenty, she had shot the second one. Just for fun. Maybe because she felt like seeing more and more blood on that day.

When she squinted and concentrated, the colorful, glowing lines of the Web stretching over the entire Sea of Grass came into sight, accompanied by a feeling of excitement and sensation. But the sight of the colors and the light that gave her comfort and pleasure didn’t soothe her that much anymore. Once she had been content with going with the flow as long as she could still immerse herself in that wonderful second world. There was no blood there. But she felt the urge to find something – anything – that gave her something in reality.

Because of that she yearned for blood that day.

And blood she had received, the thick, dark red liquid had been washed from her hands, but still stained the saddlebags the rabbits were tied to. As the sun slowly sunk towards the western horizon Glayce hopped from the fierce Drykas Strider that was her companion, dismounted him and started setting up her tent for the night. It would be like any other night under the stars … but at the same time she felt slightly itchy. Without knowing it she got closer and closer to Endrykas with every day, every mile.

With Glayce having performed the same actions many, many times before, soon a fire was happily burning in a small pit secured with large stones. Glayce had built a rickety construction out of twigs and speared the first rabbit for roasting. Grey smoke was ascending towards the sky that was already plunged into a darker hue of blue.

While cheerfully humming a small tune to herself and beads dangling in her hair, the brunette Drykas went back to setting up her tent which she had forgotten in the middle of the process.

[Griffith]

OoCSorry it took me so long to get to this. Busy week.

Griffith reached the tree without further noteworthy incident, save nearly tripping on a root. He lay his staff down beside him, within easy reach of his hand. He lay his head back against the tree's trunk, taking a moment to cool off and enjoy the shade.

His horse nickered, reminding him of it's existence, he thought. He opened his mouth to call out to it and tell it that he would see to it in a moment, even if he knew that the creature would not understand. That was when the figure dropped before him.

The Benshira's reaction was instant: he snatched up his staff and scooted backwards along the ground, putting space between him and the imagined beast. He held the weapon as though it were a spear; his instructor amongst the Akalak would have disapproved, but the motion was an instinctual one.

He was ready to bash whatever it was if it came closer when he realized three things: one, his would-be attacker was Human; two, it was a woman; and that three, she wasn't advancing on him quickly enough for someone attempting to take his life. Rather, her approach was cautious and slow, but definitely curious.

He searched her eyes, trying to find some hint of malice before she struck. Then she turned away, wandering towards his horse.

Where in the world had she come from? Griffith looked up now, searching the tree branches for more unseen inhabitants. He could not spot very much, however, his view obscured by branches and leaves which seemed to conspire to keep the tree's occupants a secret.

Well, it didn't matter. So long as it didn't look like there was another one to drop in on him as well.

Meanwhile, Ebrah the packhorse nuzzled into one of the strange woman's shoulders, not used to such attention but clearly enjoying it.

The Benshira stood slowly, keeping a slight bend in his legs to absorb impact or drop into a stance if she turned on him when he called out in Common. "Hello?"