Closed [Bronze Woods] Hunting for Two.

[Medhozic]

Timestamp: 11th Day of Winter, 513AV. He sighed quietly to himself, wandering along the edges of the Bronze Woods using the Kabrin Road. Some other travelers, leaving or entering the Stormhold Castle passed him with barely a greeting or glance in his direction; the Kopis hung from his hip and the quiver slung over his shoulder, as well as the shortbow digging into his chest were enough reason for that. Of course, none of them would think him a mercenary.. but weapons were weapons, whether wielded by a coffer or a noble. And he was neither; if anything, he could pass as a well-armed thug with the dirty, stained shirt and breeches, and it was a miracle that none of the guards passed him any more looks than an occasional glance. After all, he'd been seen with Natasha, and many squires - they should have known he wouldn't try to kill them. Well, he wouldn't, until he knew that he could get away with it and not get significantly injured in the process. As he walked, though, his mind began to wander as well. He needed something to keep himself occupied in, besides simply going out each day and hunting for small game. In these harsh Winter seasons, there was hardly anything out there and little point in trying to catch anything - besides, it was getting tedious. He needed something else, something.. better. Something that would put new skills to the test, allowing him to broaden his horizons and become more aware and more able to face the world that always posed new problems and dangers for him to face. His bow wouldn't always be useful, and neither would a dagger against some creature. Sunberth would see him as a potential target for almost anything, and he'd be useless - he needed something to help him prepare. A way to quickly find out what he needed to know so that he could leave this place and begin traveling like he wanted to. But to do that, he needed money.. and although the job was menial, the pay was enough to keep him alive, more than enough. But he didn't fancy saving up so many seasons for such a meagre supply of weapons. An opportunity, yes; he needed one opportunity, that was it. And to find opportunity, he'd need to explore. And to explore, he'd need money. Getting money could be done through opportunity. Shyke. As he thought over so many conundrums that hardly any of them were relevant and even fewer could actually be accomplished, he barely noticed those passing and turned straight into the forest, resulting in one of the travelers cursing at him profusely as he nearly walks straight in front of their horse. Maybe there was a way.. something that he could do that could bring him an instant jackpot, or at least enough to begin saving up for a better bow. Or some daggers so that he wouldn't have to keep walking around with the only weapons either being useless at long range or useless against anything but trees. It was humiliating, especially with all of his previous experiences giving more than enough proof that a simple short-bow and a Kopis wasn't enough against any of the creatures lurking around Syliras.. or any of the squires that thought they could make an easy meal out of him..

[Elsu]

ELSU

Elsu was having difficulties with hunting. It would seem that throwing daggers were not very good for killing rabbits. Or birds. Or anything else the Kelvic could kill and then sell to someone else for a few extra coins. The lack of animals he could find wasn't particularly helpful either. After what must've been at least a few hours of fruitless attempts the youth simply gave up in a quiet clearing, not far off the Kabrin Road. If he couldn't get moving targets, the least he could do was work on his aim.

Bouncing a hand against his thigh, the Kelvic used his strenghtened eyesight and hearing to figure out if any unsavory characters might be nearby. Or just any monsters. Other than the muted bustle of the road, there was nothing, neither to see nor to hear. Content with his safety for the time being, Elsu took a deep breath and grasped his throwing dagger in a traditional hammer grip, fingers wrapped around the handle. Raising his arm straight over his head, he brought his arm straight forward with his shoulder, keeping his wrist as straight and releasing the knife as it came level with his chest. It landed in a tree a few strides away with a thump, and Elsu eyed his work critically. He had been aiming for a knothole at around head-height, but the blade had instead made a home at the height of his waist. Aim, then. He needed to work on aim. Jogging over to the tree, the Kelvic pulled the knife out with a bit of effort, taking note that at least he was throwing it with sufficient force. That was something, at least.

But he needed more practice. Much more practice. No wonder he couldn't hunt if he was this awful at simply aiming. He tapped the blade against his thigh, bounding back to where he had stood a moment before. His head tilted to one side, as he took another moment to gain awareness of his surroundings. Having someone sneak up on him would not be good, especially if his weapons were far enough away that he couldn't easily get to them.

Chewing on his tongue, his gaze bounced around, and he did a little dance in place as his eyes fell on... someone. A person! People were cool. They didn't usually attack him out of nowhere. This guy, whoever he was, was armed, but that didn't really concern Elsu all that much. The lad was already covered in fading bruises and a few scratches from previous tumbles and a few friendly fights, a few more wouldn't harm him. Plus, the guy didn't seem to be particularly unfriendly. Just lost in thought. Barely even thinking about the consequences to walking up to a stranger in a strange land, the Kelvic ambled over to the figure, letting out a brief "Hey," as he approached.

[Medhozic]

Something in his mind clicked. A natural reaction for the Ethaefal - a quick swing in the general direction of the person that had just talked.. and the Kopis swinging from his side brought up in preparation to throw at the potential assailant, curved blade vertical just above his shoulder and brought up in something that was supposedly more threatening than it was actually practical. He didn't know anything about the person - and he didn't like that one bit. A mercenary come to kill him while wandering around the forest, a murderer looking for someone to kill and then steal their wealth, or a maniac looking for a thrill - they could be anyone at all looking to hurt or kill him, and the only way he'd know is if he killed them first. Not that he could even if he wanted to - the range was too long and he had absolutely no understanding of how to throw a dagger, not to mention that Kopis weren't exactly throwing knives. "Take one more step and I'll put it through your skull." Through the moment of time that he had to look at this new arrival, he made sure to take in everything he could.. and immediately realized his disadvantage in terms of combat. Throwing daggers, he could see on them.. real throwing daggers. If this person tried anything against him, he'd be gone, if they had real throwing daggers.. and most likely a moderate amount of competence in them as well, unless they were purely for show.. and given the fact that there was little else on the person, he guessed that they weren't. Unless they were really good with their bare hands.. which he also was completely useless at. Damn his lack of knowledge.. damn Syna herself for bringing him to this abysmal plane, in such poor conditions with nothing but his elegant good looks to keep others from slaughtering him brutally in the dead of night and stealing all they could from his bloodied remains. All he had were the horns on his head, thrown back from around his temples and around to the back of his skull, holding a curtain of hair from his shoulders and instead bundling around the pale marble in the dewy shades of morning. Tall, lean, rather malnourished in the way that his shirt hung from his shoulders, hardly something that one would wear in the late winter seasons unless they had absolutely nothing else.. or if they didn't want to be bulked down by the sheer weight. If only he had money.. he'd buy everything he could to make it a little warmer. Or he'd spend it on something to make him less conspicuous - dressed in pure white shirt and grey trousers, he'd stand out from the trees as much as if he just came in dressed in crimson red and sat in a field of blue. "Why are you here. Why do you wish to speak with me." His words were curt, formal - he had no need for pleasantries. And assuming that he'd even be able to live as far as to ask why someone wished to kill him, he wasn't about to give them the satisfaction of knowing just how much his voice was trembling, and how his eyes hid behind them a maelstrom of fear and confusion at even the slightest provocation. The paranoia of someone that has seen death before, closer than a murdering of a close friend or family member.. someone that feared death like nobody else, not because they had something to lose, but because they had nothing left to lose but they had something to gain from this life that they would never find.

[Elsu]

ELSU

Judging from the defensive position and curt words, the Ethaefal did not seem to like him very much. At all. For no reason, as far as Elsu could see. Well, maybe there were reasons. Lots of reasons. Like the fact that if you were approached by someone in the wilderness, it was probably because that person wanted to kill you, and steal your belongings. Which Elsu did not want to do, because killing people was messy and sad, and he had no use for any of the items the man had. Well, maybe he could trade them in the market or some such thing, but that was too much work. And if he killed him, there would probably be blood on the clothes. Nose wrinkling at the thought of having to scrub dried blood out of clothing, Elsu decided that definitely was not a good option. There was also the fact that Elsu doubted he could kill someone if he tried. It was just... so cruel. Not to mention probably pretty difficult.

A quick shake of his head, and the lad stopped reflecting, eyes widening slightly at the weapon now pointed at him. Shoulders slumping forward melodramatically, the Kelvic's lower lip pushed out in an overexaggerated pout. "Whaaaat?" he whined, in a tone of voice that better belonged to a two year old than someone that looked at least seventeen. A little huff and he crossed his arms, dagger still grasped loosely in hand. "Your lucky day, mister. I don't really wanna die, so I'll stay where I am." Straightening up as he spoke, Elsu's countenance changed to a more curious look, eyes sparkling as he took in the sight of the Ethaefal.

"Anyways, I'm pretty awful at fighting anyways. You could probably best me, no problem." Continuing conversationally, he relaxed some more, glad to be able to blabber at someone who seemed like he might even be listening. One hand holding his dagger, the other one drifted down to start playing with the hem of his shirt, twisting the material around his fingers. "You're very pretty, by the way," he added on, a quick nod punctuating his sentence."Buuut, you also look cold." The but was dragged out, Elsu continuing to nod to himself as he spoke, agreeing with his own words. "Would you like my jacket? It might be a little long, but I don't really need it." Words tripped over themselves, running together as he finished, flashing a wide grin. Someone pointing a Kopis at him apparently did not inspire a sense of danger in Elsu.

Nothing much inspired a sense of danger in Elsu.

"Why are you here. Why do you wish to speak with me." Well. He could answer questions. The man had been listening to him talk, might as well change the conversation to something this guy wanted to talk about.

So. Why was he here, again? Oh, that's right. "I came out here to hunt," he explained with a grin, which turned sheepish as he continued, "I'm absolute shyke though. So I kinda gave up and thought I would work on my aim."The last sentence was followed by a careless arm gesture. Next question. "I jus' like talking to people."

[Medhozic]

His eyes widened, then narrowed. The situation had turned into something quite odd, something that he hadn't really found before, or even expected to happen.. though he wouldn't let it show. Or he'd try not to let it show, but it did anyway. He expected people to stop to stop talking at least. with a weapon aimed for their head and a man intent on killing them should they take another step.. but no, this mere boy was persistent, moreso than the many squires and knights that had been faced with the same scenario. The blade, still held high in preparation to strike, slowly fell once he realized that the boy wasn't going to be killing him for spoils and soon looked elsewhere, mostly to mask the expression of surprise that had pierced the veil of indifference that was always so stoic. Not to mention that the small whine in the boys throat was making the Ethaefal wince. Why couldn't it just kill him.. it seemed a better fate than this. "If you don't want to die, you'll not make that noise again." That was simple enough that even a two-year-old would be able to understand it.. and yet some part of his head believed that the boy might still have difficulty with it. "Yes, I am pretty." He wouldn't deny the one thing that was true - he was a rubbish fighter as well, but he didn't dare just expose a weakness at the drop of a hat, just because the boy had given away one of his like it was valuable, or something that wouldn't come back to haunt him in the coming days when someone else was told the same and decided to kill him for spoils. And offering clothes, to others, to keep them warm instead of himself? "Keep your jackets." He didn't need anything like that - and he didn't want to show any more weakness by taking supplies from a mere child. Cold was a weakness - although it was one of the few he could feel, he wouldn't show it to anyone. "They slow you down." There, an adequate explanation. Now he wouldn't be ridiculed for being an idiot and not taking what was offered, instead of just a pathetic, weak and cold creature that couldn't survive. A few more chimes and he was growing bored of this conversation - which wasn't going anywhere, while the rabbits and the deer would all be roaming around the entire forest without anything stalking it. A waste of time, sat explaining his life to a mere child that would not understand any of it, let alone learn from it. He'd be dead by the time he ventured in without an experienced huntsmen by his side. Speaking of which.. his bow unlatched from its careful position just hung around his chest with the bowstring pressed into his breast and the wooden limbs holding the leather quiver in place, down to his side. "That is a coincidence. I am here to hunt, and practice my aim." He turned his back and immediately began down further from the path, without a care for the low branches that were pushed aside by his passage. "If you want to join me, you are free to. Otherwise, you are free to carry on whatever way you please. I do not care." The closest thing he'd ever given to an invitation. The boy should have felt proud, but then, he had weapons.. and he might actually have some skill in them that he could learn from. And on the other side, they could talk.. though he wasn't as interested in that as he was learning how to use the throwing daggers that the boy possessed. When the end of the season and his payment came from his hard earning, he would buy some of them for himself.. to hunt with, to kill with and to protect himself from all the dangers that thrived, wished to kill him and hunt him. Be they beast.. or man.

[Elsu]

ELSU

Not make that noise again. It took Elsu a moment to place what noise the guy was talking about, but the lad made a little noise of agreement when he realized his whining was being referred to. "I can try," he promised with a sheepish grin, hand coming up to push his hair back in embarrassment. He didn't really mean to do half the things he did, they just kinda happened and he went along with them. The idea of even having any sort of filter was alien to Elsu. "Still don't really wanna die."

At pale-skinned man's acknowledgment of Elsu's compliment, the tanned individual nodded, drumming a hand against his thigh and bopping his head along to some made-up tune in his own head. Bouncing on his feet to warm up, the lanky boy tapped his dagger against his thigh almost absentmindedly and shrugged. He wasn't gonna complain about keeping his jacket. It was cold, and even though he didn't really need the jacket, it was nice to have. Heavy, kinda like getting a hug. Hugs were not something the Kelvic got many of, and a jacket was a poor substitute, but who was he to complain? He had food and lodging. That was more than some.

Eyes glazed over slightly as man continued talking, but the mention of hunting caused Elsu to straighten up to his full height, arms hanging loosely by his side and lips stretching into yet another grin. Treading quickly after the Ethfaeal, the Kelvic followed a few strides behind, enough to let branches settle before he pushed them out of the way. "I'd love to join ya'! Having company is nice." Definitely preferable to being alone. "Name's Elsu, by the by," he added, deciding that hunting with someone warranted them knowing each others' names.

"What're we looking for?" The Kelvic's gaze travelled around, searching for movements and keeping track of where they were going. He had gotten lost a few times, and it was not an experience he wished to repeat. To be fair, it hadn't lasted very long. A change into his falcon form and a quick flight later, he had his bearings and had only wasted a little over an hour. The dagger shifted into his right hand, hand curled around the handle so that it could be thrown on short notice.

[Medhozic]

Immediately he regretted his own decision - that little noise of agreement was actually more annoying than all the others that this child was making. "Yes. Try at least." If it was the best he could do, maybe it would disrupt him from talking and scaring away all the other animals around the forest when he focused his concentration into something else. But the next statements caught him slightly off-guard, and he couldn't help the small responses to each, one after another. "Dying is important. If you didn't die, then you wouldn't live." Menial conversation, something to think about while they walked. "Don't ask questions about that." Just to make sure that he wouldn't be badgering over the rest of the journey on the meaning of something that he didn't expect the boy to understand anyway. The name confused him. "Odd name for a human." Usually they had something a bit.. fuller. But he couldn't judge based on the selective few that he'd unfortunately crossed paths with, and he wouldn't bring it down on the boy based on something that he could not control. "I call myself Medhozic. You may do the same." After all, the true name was hidden behind the veil of this wretched mortal body that could not even pronounce the names he had once been given.. or the names of the olden times, far before the boy would have ever known, before many... but his knowledge would be lost on them. It belonged to him and him alone. "What're we looking for. Whatever we can find." That was simple enough, wasn't it? "If we find a deer, or a rabbit, or a boar, we will kill it and make a fire. We will cut it into pieces and cook it. Then we will store it and take it back to the marketplaces to be sold for Miza's. That is the job that I have been given, and since you are following for today, you can help me." He glanced back over his shoulder, the bow still pointed at the floor, arrow resting on the limbs while not stretching the bowstring. "We may stop, if you wish. If you can give me time with your throwing knives, I can give you time with my short-bow, to train. I will even give you some advice on how to use it, although I am not a very good teacher." Of course, there was a very good reason that he would be more receptive to this boy than anyone else he had met before. "I will admit.. throwing knives are something that I have been interested in." His eyes were hungry as they stared at the cold iron.. but he looked away quickly, crouching down with his back hunched and the bow raised a few inches. His steps became longer, but softer on the ground, and more calculated so that he could avoid the fallen twigs and leaves, as well as anything else that might have caused noise to scare off potential prey. It was time to stalk, and track.. and find some prey worthy of capture.

[Elsu]

ELSU

As the pair continued through the woods, Elsu made sure to quiet his movements and speech. Words became hushed, more exhalations of breath than collections of sound. Worn boots were placed upon the ground carefully, making sure to avoid patches of crunchy leaves and any twigs. Heel went down first, then rolled through to the ball of the foot, taking care to keep his weight balanced and steps near silent. He even managed to pause in tapping his thigh for what had to be at least a chime before giving up on that. Staying silent and treading so carefully was dull. Extremely dull. Almost more dull than training. No, scratch that, it was more dull than training. At least when training you were actively doing something, here all you were doing was trying to disappear so that some unsuspecting animal would come along and you could kill it. It seemed to involve an awful lot of patience, as far as he could tell. Not really something Elsu possessed. But he could try.

"Dying is important. If you didn't die, then you wouldn't live." That was true enough. Living forever could hardly be called living. Elsu wasn't think about forever, though, he was thinking about his two-odd years and how he'd like to live at least a few more. Enough to maybe travel a bit, to gain a few comrades and a few tales to tell. That would be nice. And finding a bondmate... that was the main goal. Once Elsu found his bondmate, he would be set. Aloud, the youth settled for, "I don't really think I've lived all that much yet."

"And yeah. Not really human, though. Kelvic, not that it explains the name." The possible dangers that came with revealing his race to others was not something Elsu took much note of. Some people disliked Kelvics, thought them inferior or some such thing. Perhaps it was biased, him being one and all, but Elsu didn't see it. "No family, so no surname, though." One less thing to remember how to write on forms, that's how he looked at it. He'd yet to run into anyone else sharing the same name, so it seemed safe to not bother acquiring one. "Medhozic," he repeated under his breath, dragging it out as though to better appreciate the sounds. "Nice name."

Listening to Medhozic's instructions, Elsu found himself nodding along. There was something slightly derogatory in the way the older man said "following," but Elsu didn't pick up on, grinning instead as though shadowing a hunter was a cause for great celebration. "Not really interested in a short-bow, honestly," he murmured, continuing, "I don't have the mizas to get one for myself, so I don't see the purpose."

"I will admit... throwing knives are something that I have been interested in." The grin turned into a beam. If he could be helpful to this guy, that's all that really mattered at the moment. "I'd love to help. I can even give you some advice, if you'd like."

[Medhozic]

It wasn't hard to think it over and realize that the human-Kelvic was telling the truth, most likely. At least, in terms of the Ethaefal's lifespan, which had counted over many times before the Valterrian, back towards the origins in terms of the lives that he'd taken and been given as well. "You are most likely older and younger than I." He'd barely spent a year on the mortal plane, after all.. and this boy looked like he'd spent plenty more than that. But.. no family. That definitely stood up above all the other information he'd managed to groom from the lad, and although he didn't stop in the steady crouching walk, he did slow considerably as he glanced back around to him. "You have no family. I am guessing that you are an orphan, then.. parents abandoned or deceased. Much like my own, though it is not a story to be told to you." It was a life long passed in terms of where they stood. Many, many seasons.. more than he could count on his fingers and toes. Or at least, it felt that way. Time had blurred over all his years, times above and below. "I chose my name in order to make it sound nice. It suited me." Many had chosen constellations in memory of the sky. Of course, there were no constellations in the day, visible.. so what to name himself. Well, something unconventional, perhaps. He stopped, suddenly. Because there were marks along the bark of the tree that they were nearby. It wasn't claw-marks, though, it was a sort-of rubbing, like a scratch post. It could have been a bear rubbing itself, but these marks were much higher than that. In Medhozic's mind, it looked somewhat like a deer that had rubbed its antlers along the bark.. which would have made somewhat sense, at least in terms of sharpening them. Or removing that odd fuzz. "You should have a job, so that you can earn enough money to buy one, or other equipment.." His voice was far-away, and though he was still studying the marks in an attempt to understand how old they were - of course he had little knowledge at all, but he was still trying - he managed to continue their small conversation. "You will become a hunter with those throwing knives. I will show you how to hunt, and you will show me how to use the knives. We will both benefit." He wasn't going to accept help without returning it. Made it feel like he was running off the charity of others, and there was nothing he would hate more. "Come here. Tell me what you think of these marks." He turned aside to display them with one hand - the bark being stripped in horizontal lines, small bars running up and down the grain, about chest-height.

[Elsu]

ELSU

“Abandoned,” Elsu clarified with a shrug, watching the hunter’s actions closely. He imitated them, chest lowering down and knees bending as he crouched, muscles tense as he regained his balance. It wasn’t really a sensitive topic for the Kelvic, more of a fact of life. As soon as Elsu could care for himself, his parents had left him. That was simply how it was. The world was a lonely place; the only real constant being himself. He supposed it was a bit of a lonely existence, but it would explain why he was so open with strangers. No reason not to be.

“You should have a job,” the Ethaefal has said, and Elsu nodded in agreement. “I’m trying to get one,” he responded with an almost embarrassed grin. “Actually getting employed is kinda difficult. But I’m hoping to get a post as a messenger, since I’ve done a few runs as one and it’s been fine.” Jobs weren’t normally fun, as far as the Kelvic could tell. They seemed to mostly involve doing something tedious and getting paid. The tedious he could do without, but he needed mizas. “Sure wouldn’t mind learning hunting, though. It’s useful.”

The youth hadn’t even registered the markings on the tree, too busy with idle conversation and being quiet without exploding from repressed energy. Elsu was almost quivering from his lack of normal movement, no bouncing around on his feet or snapping fingers when you were hunting. Hands on weapons at all time, poised and ready to strike at the slightest sign of trouble. Ignoring the animals, bandits and other, less savory, characters roamed about here often enough.

Rising up to view the markings, forehead furrowed as he gently ran his fingers over the exposed strips. The outer bark was stripped away first, lighter inner bark showing. A few stripes of pale wood were roughly centered in the pattern, a few finger widths apart from each other. The widths of the scrapes themselves weren’t narrow enough to be from a set of claws, and also were not especially deep. So, not an animal with claws. Probably. What exactly they were from was completely unknown to Elsu. Curious, the Kelvic scraped away a bit of the inner bark with his nail, revealing more wood the same shape as the bars. Wondering aloud, he muttered, “They’re the same color.” Nothing had affected the wood enough to noticeably change it from the newly uncovered strip, so they had to have been made at around the same time. Obviously, the larger bars had come first, so Elsu continued softly, “They can’t have been made too long ago.” He blinked, then shifted his gaze quickly to Medhozic, looking for approval. “Is that right?”