No Hunt for You

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sama'el grinned and pointed back to the cloud that Daishira had noticed. "Your cloud looks like it's part of a storm system. I haven't spoken to any of the stormwardens to be sure, but some weather even I can interpret. Anyway, you'll want a sturdy tent if you don't have one, just to weather the storm. Looks like rain, which means wet, and it's starting to cool off, so wet can mean chill, and with a pox going around, well, better safe than sorry." He noticed Daishira's eyes darting to his work, so he tried to slow it down, be more precise in what he was doing. It required concentration still. The pieces were not uniform and perfect, so each piece he added required a little different touch. But then he set it down on his lap and started up a little something new, the same plaiting process, but a new piece. He had an idea.

[Daishira]

Daishira didn't have enough experience to tell if Kai's tent was sturdy or not. Or his own for that matter. Funny how I thought of Kai's tent before my own, shows how much faith I have in my own work. Maybe it was, surely they wouldn't have survived in Endrykas if their own habitats weren't secure enough. Then again, Sama'el sounds like he has a better idea. No, better not get too friendly.

"Thanks, but I'm staying with a friend, and I'm sure her tent is sturdy enough," Daishira said, confident enough but not forceful and was still genuinely thankful for the Drykas' kind offer.

Then, the Drykas changed his work, subtly, but still caught Daishira's attention like a hook around a fish's mouth.

"Say, what are you doing there? The original thing looked alright enough," he commented, despite the fact he probably could not tell what looked good or bad. Either way, it was nice and polite to compliment his craft. He would like it if he was seen practising with his angle blade or his trumpet. I haven't played my trumpet in so long... Must be something I get to when I have the time.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"That's good," he said. It just seemed incumbent upon him as a member of the Watch to see to the safety of guests, but if Daishira had a Drykas friend, he ought to be all right if the storms truly came. He fished out the thinnest strips of leather he had, weaving them into his plaited bit of leather. "Here," he said, "give me your wrist."

[Daishira]

Daishira carefully followed Sama'el's hand as it offered a neatly arranged form of leather. This seemed strange to him, and pretty forward. We have only just met. What makes you so confident? Daishira at first was cautious about putting his hand in reach of the Drykas. Hesitantly, his hand moved towards the leather. Then stopped. What are you going to do? In milliseconds, his mind processed the possibilities. The very worst scenario was that he would tie him up and kidnap him. That wouldn't be a very good welcoming message at all. The normal scenario however, was that he just wanted his help with something, or he was using him as a model for his handiwork.

Only one way to find out, Daishira supposed.

He pushed his hand forward and faced the palm to the sky, presenting his wrist. He did not do so completely carefree though. Daishira placed his other hand inside his jacket, grasping the handle of his angle blade that was in his pocket of his trousers. If anything were to go wrong, Daishira would react swiftly, like a hand pulling away from a hot flame. And then retaliate with his own little sparks.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

If Daishira was worried, then he didn't know Endrykas or its people well. Sama'el did indeed wrap the braided leather around his wrist, but as an adornment rather than a manacle. He didn't know it, but Daishira could shift shapes and he would lose it. In any case, his smile was friendly enough as he finished the thing and tied it off. "There you go," he said. "Something to remember the day by. The Great Hunt, the threat of pox, the horseclans. And perhaps a reminder to watch the horizon for storms." He grinned and winked. "Sorry it's not much. I'm not the greatest artisan." Of course, Sama'el had other talents. But for now he went back to braiding the longer lead line out of the strips and bits of leather.

[Daishira]

Tickling Daishira's surprise, Sama'el had in fact placed the leather wrapping around his wrist. His smile he offered while tying the adornment confirmed it was meant as a present. Once tied, Daishira lifted it closer to his eyes and examined the piece more closely. It was fine indeed, the different strips of leather interwove around each other in such a wavy pattern. Although it contained no jewels, colour or complexity, in the young Kelvic's eyes, it was still magnificent, especially as he had just walked in on the last few minutes of the kind Drykas' solitary craftsmanship. Later, when he was alone, he would stare at it for a while longer, partly out of politeness and respect for his new 'friend' but mostly for his own fascination. It was strange, how some things so simple could appeal to Daishira so easily. It could not be explained. It was as if he was a crow and the dull leather was the shiny marble.

Sama'el spoke and explained the simple piece. Then he finished with, "Sorry it's not much. I'm not the greatest artisan."

Daishira offered a wide, genuine smile, "Oh no, it's great, really. I don't know anything about this kind of thing, but I think it looks..." he took another short moment to stare at it. "... Amazing. Mesmerising even. I wish I had something to give you in return. I packed light for this walk, I wasn't planning on going anywhere in particular."

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sama'el smiled, a little thrown by the man's enthusiasm. Usually he was the enthusiastic one, but it was nice to have it matched. Then he grinned. "Well, if you want to sit down and wait, I can make you a matching necklace, or belt, or... whatever you want. I found all these leather scraps, and some from other things I was making, and I figured I ought to put them to good use. Waste not, want not." He started coiling the lead he had made around his hand and elbow to see how long it was, whether he wanted to add more or make little decorative things for Daishira. Utility was important, but so were friends, and hospitality, and Daishira was a guest of the Drykas here.

[Daishira]

The pause in Sama'el's speech suggested he was surprised at Daishira's positive response. In one way, this was a lovely feeling to him, knowing that he may have made someone's day that little bit better. He believed in the idealistic notions of the way of life, that if everyone did something kind, as little as smiling, then everyone on the planet would live a better life. It would never work however, Daishira was oblivious to this fact of life, because there are always those people with cruel intentions, malice in their stride. He liked to think better of the harsh world, for now. Daishira smiled very warmly and gratefully when Sama'el offered to make him more ornaments, however, the slightly spoiled Kevlic did not want to take too much of the man's time or leather. His skills could be used elsewhere.

So, out of kindness, not distaste, he refused the kind Drykas, "No, thank you. I appreciate your offer, but you don't have to. I wouldn't want to hassle you too much, I'm sure you have other more important things to do than just making gifts for a stranger, despite how thankful he is."

He took one more glance at his gift wrapped securely around his wrist and absorbed its simple beauty for a few seconds more. Then, looking back at the Drykas, he continued, "It looks beautiful. Keep at it, you're a great... whatever it is you call yourself. I think I'll be off now, continue my walk for a while longer before heading off home. I'll keep hold of this for remembrance, until we meet again."

Daishira started to walk onwards and pulled gently on Holly's rein, hinting to follow. A bray later, he was not five meters away before he turned back to Sama'el and met his gaze with a smile.

"I'm looking forward to it. Bye, friend."

[Limey]

Sama'el: Skill and Lore Rewards Skills Lore Leatherworking 2 Making Yourself Useful Daishira: A Strange One, But Pleasant Daishira: Skill and Lore Rewards Skills Lore Observation 2 Sama'el: A Generous Drykas Kindess Goes A Long Way Daishira: +1 Plain Leather Bracelet Additional Notes : Awww, Sammy, you sweetie, you! Pretty straightforward thread, guys, sorry I couldn't award more in terms of XP and lore. Still, I did like the little back and forth. This was more a snapshot that a story, but it is ripe with possibilities. Nicely done, and well-written, too. Any questions or queries, please PM me.