Closed A hunting we will go..(Azira)

[Erade]

Timestamp: 37th of Autumn of 513AV

Erade was excited. No like super excited. Azira had gotten it cleared to take her out for a hunting trip for today. After their little show down in the archery ranges, the feisty older girl and Erade were becoming quick friends.The yasi wasn't sure if she was more excited that she didn't have to go to class today or for the hunting trip it self.

In all honesty, Erade kinda needed a distraction. As of late, Wind reach has been having a hard time. The Inartans are hardy people and will survive it but Erade cant help but dwell on the what ifs. A few of her classmates have gotten sick, due to the cloudy water, or so the healer suspect at least. So this trip is just what the doctor ordered.

Erade put on her vinati, even though she prefered not to wear it, and rummaged for her underused katinu. The weather has been more on the rather cold side so the extra layers will help. Lastly she slipped on her sontav that she doubled as a wrist guard. Poor substitution but it worked well enough.

She rushed about her room gathering what she thought she would need. It was only for a few bells so a tent and what not shouldn't be needed. The short girl was suppose to have meant Azira at the gates over 10 chimes ago and she was still packing. Grabbing her recurved bow, quiver and her arrows, she quickly whistled a good bye to Etaolle on her perch and made her way to the gates.

[Azira]

Azira was standing just outside the Sanikas Gates, waiting impatiently for Erade. They were supposed to be going on a hunting trip because she'd lost the archery competition to the Yasi, a fact that still made her cringe when she thought of it. It was bad enough that she'd lost without having to be reminded of her failure throughout the whole trip. She wasn't looking forward to the trip regardless. It wasn't that she didn't like Erade, the Yasi was growing on her although she'd never admit it, but rather that she didn't want the company. Azira enjoyed hunting because of the solitude. She could get away from the everyday hustle and bustle of Wind Reach and the taunts of those who found her stature amusing. If she went with the girl then she wouldn't be getting that. She wasn't pleased either with the fact that the Yasi was prolonging the inevitable hunt by being late. She'd been late for their archery competition too. I think I see a pattern emerging, she thought, her mouth set in a narrow line. She hoped that this wouldn't happen in future but she had a feeling that Erade's punctuality wouldn't improve in future. Her lack of punctuality certainly wasn't improving Azira's temper and it definitely wouldn't be good if she blew up at the girl before the day even started. It wasn't as if she could back out now anyway. She didn't wanted to risk disappointing Erade but she also didn't want to incur the wrath of the Yasi's teachers. They were notoriously short-tempered and Azira didn't want them hounding her about getting Erade a day off from lessons for no good reason. So the trip would go ahead although she had to wonder if it would happen any time today seeing as the Yasi hadn't put in an appearance. She began to tap her foot impatiently. "Ye gods, where has that infernal Yasi gotten to?" she exclaimed, glaring in the direction of the gates. The girl was already more than 10 bells late and Azira wasn't going to wait much longer. If the girl didn't arrive soon then she was going to go looking for her and she was going to bring her straight here even if she had to drag her by her hair. If she had to go in there then she was going to be in a hellish temper and gods help anyone who'd came across her then.

[Erade]

Rushing through the halls, and knocking into possibly everyone along the way, she yelled out weak apologies of sorrys. Reaching the gate in record time, or at least in her book, she found Azira waiting. Out of breath, she bent over, using the wall as support, to catch her breath before attempting to speak.

"Hi... Azira...sorry... I'm.. late.." the little girl wheezed out, clearly still haven't recovered from her sprint.

She looked up and saw the older girl was not pleased. However Erade wasn't sure if it was because she was sorely late or some unknown reason. Erade had to bet her left toe, she was pretty sure it was a combination of both but mainly her tardiness. When she really thought about it, Azira was probably still sore about the archery competition. After all she was just a yasi with barely any experience and she was an Avora, it was her job after all. Sometime during this hunting trip, the yasi knew she was going have to make it up to the older girl somehow.

Feeling a bit better and not so winded, she straightened up and faced Azira. "Like, I was saying.. I'm sorry I was late. I got caught up in the Enclave and well time flew.." Erade trailed off, looking off into a corner and scratched the back of her head. A new nervous motion she picked up somewhere, that replaced her lip biting it seems. The Avora clearly was still not amused. So Erade quickly changed the subject.

"Eh, so where are we going exactly? To the south right? Overheard some Chiets yesterday say that the animals are starting to flee that way."

[Azira]

It turned out that Azira didn't have to return to the city to drag Erade out as the girl came running out of her own accord. She folded her arms across her chest, raising one eyebrow questioningly as she regarded the wheezing girl in front of her. The younger girl had probably run from wherever she'd been, not from just before the gate to try to make up for lost time. At least Erade had made the effort even if it was a little late. The Yasi looked up at her. She must have seen her hard expression because she tried to explain her lateness as if that made it any better. She listened to Erade's excuses, snorting in disbelief. "I understand the allure of spending one's time in the Enclave I assure you. It doesn't give you the excuse to waste my time! I didn't have to uphold my end of the bargain, I could have easily lied about you winning because you're only a Yasi so my word is better than yours. But I didn't. I'm giving you an opportunity that not every Yasi gets and what do you do? You disrespect me!" she snarled at the younger girl, seeming to tower over her in her rage despite the fact that she was shorter than Erade. Azira took a deep breath, exhaling slowly and trying to rein in her anger. She glared at Erade before taking off towards the south. "Yes we're heading south. The Chiet are right about something for once but hurry up. You've wasted enough of my time as it is," she called back over her shoulder, not bothering to check if the girl was following. She lengthened her stride. It was better to keep up a fast pace on the flatter terrain because time was lost when on the rougher ground.

[Erade]

Azira began walking off not even looking back to see if Erade was following or not. Not moments before the older girl had blown up on her, granted it was her fault for being late and she was right. Azira didn't have to do this and was attempting at being nice. Giving her characteristic big grin she rushed after the shorter girl. Erade thought she was short at 5' 2" but Azira only came up to about her shoulder, if she's lucky at her neckline.

They walked in silence for the most part. Erade to enjoy the view and to let Azira calm down a bit more. She held the urge to ask a bunch of questions about the area. She only knew it by what maps have said but even then they are vague and its a completely difference experience from a piece of parchment. The unforgiving or not it was still beautiful even with its unknown dangers.

Trying to lighten things up, Erade prosed a question. "So what are we hunting for exactly? With it being autumn now I would imagine most of the animals are hibernating or went to their warmer grounds."

Before the Avora could answer the yasi the ground shook. The rolling feeling was that of a ground tremor and nothing serious. Living in an active volcano has its advantages and its disadvantages as well. However ground tremors is second nature to the Inartans and both girls didnt give it a second thought after it stopped a few chimes later.

"So..." Erade trailed off not exactly sure what to say. She secretly hoping Azira would break her silent treatment and answer her question from before.

[Azira]

Azira strode purposefully down the Sanikas Road, heading down as far as possible on the smooth surface before stepping off  it and into the woods. Erade walked silently beside her but she knew that that was only temporary. Sure enough after a few minutes of walking the girl began to question her. She was amazed that the girl had lasted as long as she had without talking. She was a terribly chattery girl who usually had a problem keeping silent. Azira sighed but refused to answer, hoping to enjoy the natural sounds of the forest in peace for a little longer.  The volcano chose that moment to make the ground tremble. Azira frowned slightly but continued walking. It was the second ground tremor today and she was a little puzzled. The volcano didn't usually tremble that often, only a few times a season, so it was unusual for there to be two tremors in one day. It probably didn't mean anything she decided and pushed it from her mind as she focused on more immediate things. Erade was trying to get her to speak and there was no point ignoring her for much longer. She sighed resignedly. "Endals can hunt big game like elk but I'm only an Avora so I can only hunt rabbits, mice and squirrels. There isn't much point trying to catch mice unless you're desperate. They're quick, difficult to catch and it's hard to estimate their numbers. If I set a trap for them, I might catch one or two, ten or maybe even none. They aren't worth it for so little meat," she explained. "Squirrels are very good at this time of the year because they come out in droves to eat. They try to make themselves fat for the winter you see. This year though there aren't too many of them nearby for some strange reason. Same with the rabbits. They've all moved down the mountain for some reason so we have a long trek ahead of us," she finished. She took a deep breath and readied herself for a myriad of questions.

[Erade]

Erade practically squealed with delight when Azira finally broke her silence. If she answered this one maybe she would answer a few more, but instead of asking them one at a time, she streamed them together.

"How long have you been hunting? Who taught you? Were you a natural? Did you always know you wanted to be an Avora? Are we going to use our bows today? Guess not since you mentioned small game.. So will you teach me how to use traps? How much further?"

Azira cringed at the barrage of questions especially at the ones about her. She was ready for a bunch of questions from the younger girl but these ones were unexpected. The hot headed Inartan didnt seem like she was going to answer them anytime soon so Erade had no choice to be aware of her surroundings and mindless thoughts again.

Due to the odd flux of weather lately, the flora seemed almost confused if it was summer or autumn even winter. A few trees here and there that lined the road had started their autumn transformations but the rest of its kind were either still a rich green color of leaves or had none at all.
Erade wondered if it was more due to the nasty djed storm last year.

More silence and more random thoughts came and went as they continued down the Sanikas road. By the look of things, Erade concluded Azira was going as far as she could on flat terrain before cutting off in the forest and heading south. Erade wasn't sure if she was still as excited to go on a hunting trip. Her attention span was clearly wavering. Turning slightly so she could have access to her backpack as she walked, the yasi fumbled around until she found her little, overused mapmakers kit and some parchment.

Erade figured since the Avora wouldn't talk, she might as well add more detail to her messy replica map of wind reach and surrounding areas. They reached the point where Azira wanted to cross into the forest and lead Erade under its canopy. Still deeply engrossed with adding details to her map, Erade was only looking up every few chimes, relying on her peripheral vision, using Azira's fiery hair as a marker. So when another tremor started up, much stronger than the last, she tripped on an exposed tree root and landed face first.

[Azira]

Azira cringed under the barrage of questions. She'd been expecting more questions in their hunting trip, not personal questions. Although after a string of personal questions, the sort of questions she had been expecting were also asked. She had no intention of answering the personal questions and she really didn't want to answer any of the other questions either so instead she kept silent. Instead she thought about what was ahead of her today. She had an impatient Yasi who she was going to have the pleasure of hunting with. The girl made so much noise that it would be amazing if they caught anything at all. She had to stay quiet or any animals would hear their approach from a good distance away. Amazingly enough Erade had grown silent and Azira realised that it was a result of her own silence. That thought comforted her. Knowing that she could make the Yasi shut up by ignoring her was important information to have. Glancing back, she found the source of the girl's quiet behaviour. She was too busy putting something on parchment. Azira pursed her lips. She was bringing Erade on a hunting trip and she wasn't even paying any attention. As they stepped off the road and into the forest, she secretly hoped that the girl would fall flat on her face. It'd serve her right, she thought darkly as she moved through the woods. Her own steps were near silent but Erade was so loud that animals further down the mountain would hear her. She was stomping around, not paying any attention to where she was going. She was too busy with whatever she was doing on the parchment. She was just about to complain when another tremor took place. It was stronger than before and Azira wobbled briefly before regaining her balance. The younger girl wasn't as lucky, landing flat on her face. Azira snorted with amusement but leaned down to help the girl. She grabbed her under her arms and lifted her up. "Now if you paid more attention you'd be less likely to fall on your face," she sniggered. "That tremor was worse than before and it's the third one today, very strange. We'd better keep an eye out for signs of landslides," she added, her tone more serious this time.

[Erade]

Erade was slightly dazed and disoriented from her fall. "What the peck.." The world sort of did a shoosh and twirl as she miraculously found her way to her feet. She looked around and realized Azira had helped her up but not before laughing at her expense. The younger girl guess she had it coming not really paying attention to where she was going and all. She rolled up her slightly ruined map with a grimace, bells wasted and now its was all dirty and torn in a few places. Silver lining in all of this event, It wouldn't take the yasi long to remake the map since she has done it once before. Looking around on the ground, Erade managed to find her little mapmaker's kit hiding under some brush. She placed her kit and map back in her backpack and tighten it back up. Won't be walking and mapmaking again anytime soon.Erade thought to herself as she rubbed her forehead, where she landed. It was starting to turn a nice healthy red with a lump. "That tremor was worse than before and it's the third one today, very strange. We'd better keep an eye out for signs of landslides." Azira stated. The yasi had to think back, she didn't remember it being three now. It must have happened while she was either rushing to pack or rushing to get to the gates to meet up with the Avora. The younger girl nodded to comfirm she had heard her and would be cautious from now on. She wasn't sure if she could do anything about bumbling about in the forest though. She wasn't as skilled and quiet as the huntress. Erade would put in an effort to do so or they both would be going empty handed today. They continued through the forest making their way due south. Erade managed to keep quiet or at least her mouth not so much her feet. Everytime she avoided one noise maker she would step or bump into something else making more noise than the original object. The yasi sighed dejectedly. "Azira, this is hopeless. I'm making too much noise any animal in a 100 mile radius can hear me."

[Azira]

Azira rolled her eyes at the girl's stupidity and waited impatiently for the girl to sort herself out as she rolled up her map and went in search of something. The something turned out to be a mapmaking kit which she managed to find after a little bit of searching in the undergrowth. She was really unbelievable but perhaps she'd learn something from it. Like watching where she was going, tremor or no tremor.  "You'll watch your footing in future. Your fall definitely made it's mark," she sniggered, indicating the red lump that was rising on her forehead. It served her right for being rude and not paying any attention to Azira and her surroundings. She was the one who'd been eager to go on this hunting trip and yet she acted totally disinterested. She didn't understand it at all. The girl nodded in acknowledgement and trudged on without any distractions this time. She was making an obvious effort to be quiet but somehow she managed to be louder than before. She was going about it all wrong, clearly following myths that she'd heard about how to walk quietly. Erade was so loud in fact that they might as well just give up now and return to Wind Reach. The Yasi brought it up herself. "I'd noticed that you're loud. It's a bit hard not to, to be honest," she replied, halting the girl with a hand. "You're walking wrong. You're putting to much weight on your feet first of all. Tread lightly, your feet like feathers. Secondly, put your weight on your heel first and then your toes, not the other way round. Tip-toeing doesn't work," Azira explained, crossing her arms across her chest as she instructed her friend.