Completed [Processing Center] Perserving Life (Edric Wingard)

[Ainyi]

30 Winter 513 AV

Thump.

The meat cleaver sank languidly into the chopping block. Ainyi freed it, and made the motion again. Her eyes were simultaneously concentrated and bored. Her higher up had been complaining of how choppy her meat slabs were. How sloppy the cuts were, how the fat was trimmed, that she hadn't dried it properly. So, during her work hours, when there was no meat to process, she sat practicing her chops. She looked almost hopefully over in the corner at Yasa. She always kept her bow and quiver on her; a beautiful bow like that, she didn't trust to be left in the Common rooms. Not to mention the subtle threats she had been receiving from her own caste since assisting Turrin in that arrest. She wondered if there would be another day this winter she would feel safe not walking around with a bow nearby.

Thump. Thump.

She tried not to think about how she would be better off catching the food than cutting the food. She tried not to think of how little good she is doing to her people sitting in a room placing a cleaver in a cut over and over. She tried not to think how numb her fingers were, or how loudly her stomach groaned, or how much her chest ached for companionship.

Thump.

A strand of fiery mahogany hair fell loose of it's braid. She thumped the knife into the block, and sat down a moment, breathing slow and heavy. Her hands entwined in the hair, braiding and adjusting beads to keep it out of her face. She looked down at the hands; leathered from practicing archery in her spare time, skin cracking in some places. The skin was always the first place to see dehydration. She cleared her throat, and sighed, thinking as clearly as she could. Three more bells till the evening meal. She could rehydrate there.

Standing again, she picked up the knife, and lined it up on the board, where her previous notch marks were. Wearily, but knowingly, she swung. Waiting for work. Waiting for food.

Thump.

[Edric Wingard]

Wingard sighed, his form slumping low as he stood among the snow. The sun, undisturbed by clouds, shone brightly upon him, bathing the hunter in an elegant halo. It shadowed his sharp features, imitating mystique as he stood quietly, his katinu’s edges billowing with a northeastern breeze. It whistled past his exposed ears, carrying the visible breath that left his lips with it, as if hinting at its capability to diminish anything that opposed it. Silently, the rays of sunlight reflected off the ice, creating a brilliant exhibit of glittering snow that sparkled like billions of little diamonds all around him. It was pure and untouched, so ethereal in its beauty that one could easily forget how to breathe. In. Out. Gasp.

The trees spoke softly to the wind as it blew by, caressing their worn branches and whispering wisdom to their hearty trunks. Each one was low and tired; their arms heavy with snow and laboured without rain. Zulrav coaxed their fatigues bodies to continue on as the spoils of spring would make their bitter existence throughout winter worth each cold gust he plagued them with. Winter was a time for rest and rejuvenation, he’d say, his voice so thunderous and all-encompassing that it would be heard for miles. The trees merely groaned their assent before slipping back into their unwilling hibernation, eyes closed and nerves numb.

Hearing the telling crunch of snow collapsing beneath his feet, the hunter wanted to growl in annoyance at the obvious sound. In the dead silence of the Unforgiving, any indication of movement was a signal to prey that they were being stalked and to head for the figurative hills. This utter beauty that surrounded Wingard was nothing but a hindrance and he utterly hated it. Considering how much of a failure his hunting trip had been, he did not understand why he was still skulking through the cold terrain looking for something to bring home to his people. The winter’s grasp on so many was evident in the lack of movement and sound all around him. Rather than the cheerful chirps of song birds and incessant chatter of rodents, the eerie silence that filled the void ate away at his resolve and battered at his optimism until the eagle was ready to finally call it quits.

Abruptly, the euphoric sound of leaves shifting filled his ears. Darting his eyes around wildly to pinpoint the sound, Wingard zeroed in nearly twenty feet due northeast from his position to witness the remnants of movement. The snow which had delicately lined the top of an evergreen branch lay rough and abused beneath it, the handled snow scarcely covering up telling tracks below. Slowly, hoping to minimize the sound he would make while moving, the Kelvic stalked his way towards the tree, finally seeing the signs of a miracle in fresh animal prints. As he approached the swaying foliage, the eagle noted the way the prints slipped beneath the disturbed snow and disappeared around the tree to only appear on the other side. Grinning widely at such a find, he crouched down low to examine them; his face unnecessarily close as he did so. From the lack of obvious claws and delicate bone structure, Wingard could only surmise that the animal he was about to chase was hare-like in origins.

Glancing around the tree to ensure the ghost was clear, the hunter slipped past the tree silently, determined not to brush his form against the tree; the less noise or disturbance he made the better. Finding the tracks again, he slowly began to follow them in a hunkered position: his knees bent to allow quick mobility as he stalked forward leg over leg, his spider dagger quickly making its way to his dominant hand as he went. Gauging that he was at the maximum only a kilometer behind his prey, the eagle tried to quicken his pace in order to catch up. As much as he loved the hunt, toying with a potential meal would be the stupidest thing he could do in the middle of winter. In the spring and summer when game was plentiful, that sport would be highly encouraged and praised, but now, when it was so important to get a meal on the table, Wingard was not going to play around.

Spotting some feces mucking up the trail ahead of him, the hunter quickly descended upon it. The round, pebble-like structures cemented his hypothesis that it was a rabbit. It seemed fresh to him, so only with a slight twist of the lips, he reached down and rested his hand over it, hoping to detect some heat from the recently deposited feces in order to gauge how far ahead the damn hare was. Discovering the shyke was warm enough to emit a low aura of heat upon his fingers without reaching down further to play with the excrement, the eagle stood up once again and quickly took off after the tracks, his hopes restored.

Moving as fast as he could without emitting too much of a sound, Wingard stopped moving the moment the hare was in his sights. Taking cover behind a tree, he watched as it seemed to snuffle about the roots of a disparaging birch before settling on nibbling on something below. Taking note of his position downwind, the young hunter let out a quiet breath as he prepared himself. Knowing the speed at which a hare could move, he doubted he’d be capable of getting a viable second chance at killing it if he missed the first one. Surprisingly, the hare was rather rotund so Wingard knew they could make a decent meal of it if he could just kill the damn thing. Holding his dagger carefully, he caressed the handle with a hunter’s care, slipping it between his fingers lightly and swinging it about to get a feel of it. The blade was lightweight in his palm, balancing perfectly as he spun it. Running a finger over the sharpened edge, he withdrew it with a satisfied smile when he saw the barest of cuts now decorating his fingers. It wasn’t bleeding which was nice, considering the smell of blood could easily attract predators or distract his prey.

Taking a final breath, the Kelvic exhaled. It was only 10 feet away and he had this. Letting the dagger fly, it spun through the air alarmingly fast, its form blurred as the weapon moved. Wingard’s enhanced eye sight made targeting the damn thing easier and he watched as the dagger quickly embedded itself into the ear of the hare. The blade slammed into the ground pinning it, but he watched in horror for little less than a tick as it attempted to pull free, slicing its own ear off in the process. Withdrawing a second blade, the hunter rushed forward, closing the distance between them like his animal was prone to do; swooping in and going for the kill. The rabbit jerked to the right, its small feet battering the snow as it tried to gain enough traction to shoot off. Diving rather inelegantly, Wingard threw his body forward grasping a fleeing hind leg. The wind was knocked out of him, but the man didn’t give up, dragging the rabbit closer so that he could deliver the killing blow. He could only let out a sigh of relief as the blade stayed true and slammed into the rabbit’s head, cracking the skull. Taking a moment to catch his breath, the hunter efficiently rolled to his feet, quickly retrieved his daggers and the hare while committing a rather celebratory dance. Finally. Considering that his last encounter out here with an animal resulted

Removing his pack from his back, the Kelvic decided that it was time to call it quits while he was ahead, rather than behind. Slipping off his clothes and placing them within the canvas, he looped the bag over his neck as per usual, transformed, picked up his damn hare and quickly ascended into the sky, bursting through an open area between the trees and soaring high.

Gods, he could not wait for winter to be over.

-~-

As he flew towards the Processing Center so he could drop off the rabbit and then head home, Wingard silently wondered what it was like working in a place that currently, probably did not have much to do. Would the workers still get paid for labour, regardless of the fact that their craft was currently scarce? In his eyes, it seemed rather stupid to waste funding on paying for services that weren’t even running, let along thriving, but without the Processing Center, who would prepare their food so efficiently? If there was anything the Kelvic knew about himself was that he was not elegant with a blade. Like his counterpart, Wingard was rash and violent, his tongue his weapon of choice when his talons were not around. These talons were anything but delicate tools of precision, so he knew that he would have failed miserably in the Center. It was only pure luck, and probably his innate ability to hunt, that got him the position of Avora and Hunter rather than getting stuck as a Chiet or Dek for the rest of his life.

Letting out a sigh as his stomach seemed to groan at his straying meanderings of food and consumption, the Wind Eagle put a firm lid on his own carnivous thoughts to move onto getting to his destination as swiftly as possible. The moment that he was back in Wind Reach, Wingard knew that all he wanted was to scoot on down to the kitchens and eat his fill before heading home to bathe and sleep. His eyes were already fluttering in their exhaustion, the strained lines that shadowed his normally glowing irises an obvious indication of his fatigue. The last couple days of training and hunting had worn him down well, making his craving for sleep so desperate that he was nearly ready to just perch for the night and return the next morning. Only the thought of his starving people made the eagle momentarily considerate so he could continue his journey.

When Mount Skyinarta’s beautifully ridged top came into view, the eagle nearly broke out into one of those annoying songs those little songbirds sung when they were basking under Syra’s warm rays. The only thing holding him back was his dignity and need to continue to remain stoic and mysterious, so he beat his wings and hurried home as fast as his little, feathered appendages could carry him. His colony danced around him in greeting and celebration of his successful hunt but dispersed quickly as he spoke of his long journey and need for nourishment. One of the older eagles cleared space for him to land outside of the Processing Center and he thanked her immensely before landing. As his feet hit the ground, he immediately transformed into his human form and hurried into the warm structure, the hare toting behind him.

Shivering at the abrupt changes in temperature, Wingard repositioned his pack so it sat around his shoulder like a satchel as he walked towards the initial deposit center for kills. Entering the well-lit building, he automatically headed towards the sorting table and placed the rabbit upon it before roughly running his hands over the sheared side of his head. Not seeing anyone manning the station, he looked towards the processing area in confusion. Generally someone would always be watching that area, but it appeared that that certainly wasn’t the case today. Looking about, his eyes zeroed in on a familiar ginger head that he had not seen since his last encounter with her at the Archery Ranges. Clearing his throat to grab her attention as she seemed to be focusing intense concentration on an empty cutting board, Wingard attempted to make eye contact with the girl.

“Madam Ainyi, it is nice to see you slaughtering your boredom so veraciously.”

Smiling slightly despite his tiredness, the young buck gestured towards his catch and continued, “Perhaps if you don’t mind actual labour rather than an imaginative one, I have brought a hare for you to prep for consumption.”

[Ainyi]

“Madam Ainyi, it is nice to see you slaughtering your boredom so veraciously.”

Ainyi's chest puffed indignantly almost on reflex. Some of the hunters, after a failed hunt, have decided in their free time to take up sarcasm. In between butchering her invisible prey, she'd been working on some snappy comebacks of her own. Especially since the famine hit, staff has been limited to just two workers a day, and her shift partner decided not to show up today, to her great boredom. She raised the knife, and landed it down on the notch again with a thunk.

"At least I'm slaughtering some-," she began, her slightly avian face rising to see the tall blond Avora. She instantly smiled, which was amplified into a grin at the sight of the rabbit in his hand. "Wingard!" She cried, her tone far more jovial upon recognizing her friend. From this angle, he appeared topless, but that wasn't an unusual state of dress for many men around Wind Reach. She half ran across the room to inspect the rabbit, and as she approached, realized that he not wearing...anything. Once she realized he was naked as his nameday, her expression reddened and eyes focused completely on the rabbit. At least, until she had to glance down for a quill, and saw a different quill entirely. She cleared her throat loudly, and took the rabbit from him. "I don't suppose it's safe to hunt like that in this weather, no?" she commented, trying to find any words to fill the awkward silence that set in as she inspected the kill.

It was a clean kill, on a well fed rabbit. A rabbit was a small kill, but any kill was significant at this point. Her stomach would have her kiss him in that moment, but considering his current state of undress, her other organs vetoed such a request. Realizing her rudeness prior to realizing who he was wasn't excused by his lack of clothes, her face reddened further and took on a sheepish quality. "I'm sorry," she admitted, "I thought you were one of the other hunters. I meant no harm. Congratulations on your kill!"

She looked around the room. She would be handling this kill...completely alone. With a heavy sigh at the incompetence of her colleagues, she took the rabbit from him, and found the small animal sized meat hook hanging down. The shorter than average Inarta got on the tips of her toes, pulled the hook down, and hooked the rabbit onto it through the jaw cavity through the mouth. Blood popped from the puncture and she narrowly avoided drenching her hands. She grabbed the quill from earlier, and turned to tally him up.

Brushing back her hair with her wrist before retreating to the board to find his name, she called over her shoulder, "How have you been? I haven't seen you at the archery range since last week. I take it you've been improving?" She climbed the ladder attached to the wall with a quill in one hand until she saw his name about five feet off the ground. She loftily pushed herself across the wall until she saw the 'rabbit' tally section, and made a clean mark. She placed the quill in the crook of her ear, and slid down efficiently, placing the quill back where it came from.

The Inartan tried not to look bitter as she slid the meat hooked rabbit down the room to the processing end of it. "As you can tell, my skills with a bow are being put to great use down here," She said with a touch of her own sarcasm, walking down to where the rabbit slid. Ainyi looked pointedly at Edric's nose, and grudgingly opened her stance to . At this point, she would have been glad to talk to anything that wasn't an inanimate object, let alone a friend. He looked obviously fatigued from his time at the hunt, but she hoped he would stay a few minutes...provided he put on some pants. She had to admit he was attractive, and his hunter status kept him handsome where many others were counting the bones on their rib cages. She felt her own shrinking abdomen, hoping not to hear her body growl with the anger of a starved animal. Shaking her head, the Inartan found her skinning knife and tried not to let her friend distract her, while simultaneously inviting conversation. It was a weird, contradictory state. But a state, indeed.

[Edric Wingard]

Wingard sighed inwardly as he rubbed his eyes, his features tight as he tried to remind himself that sleeping in such a place was highly unsanitary. Wistfully, he glanced towards the passage he had travelled through in order to enter the center and thought of his own aerie, merely fifty feet above him, and the unoccupied bed that needed him. Like a siren tempting a sailor, its luscious voice whispered in his ear, reminding him of its soft warmth that could encompass him and ease away his pains. She pawed at his senses, enveloping the fatigued hunter in her skillful mirage of comfort to the point that the Kelvic nearly found himself easing onto the floor to sleep. Ainyi’s voice jolted him from his delusion, however, and Wingard abruptly shook his head. These cases of dementia really were not speaking well for his psyche and he silently praised his acquaintance for her ill-timing.

She was rounding the tables to come and see him, he noted, as she spoke; her voice light and energetic as it jumped at the opportunity to end its silence. The Eagle really didn’t mind the sound of it, as it was scraping away at the fog that was dulling his senses, and he smiled lightly as she seemed to be in good spirits over his presence. He had noted the way her tongue had initially greeted him with ire, and he inwardly wondered why his initial comment sans his person had initiated such a response. Was her person getting assaulted by the others as they wallowed in their own incompetence? He inwardly frowned at such a notion, disliking any sort of action that befell scapegoats when others were unable to deal with their own faults, but it was also because it was over young Ainyi, a girl that held potential that was not recognized or seen.

Listening to her chatter with half an ear, the eagle found himself slipping into his own thoughts, contemplating the likelihood of the chiet getting abused and finding himself unhappy with the high percentage. He frowned outwardly as she took the rabbit from his fingers, his newly freed hand reaching up to rub at his bare shoulder absentmindedly. It was rather stiff from his satchel, he noted wryly, feeling the raw skin and soothing it with his cool fingers. Usually, Wingard was far more aware of his surroundings, but his need for sleep and feeling of comfort with Ainyi were deluding his senses into a false sense of security. Due to this, he was hardly aware of the lilting vocals of his acquaintance, nor the skittish way her eyes seemed to focus around him rather than on his person.

Idly following her along as she began going through the motions of her job, he responded with quick grunts of assent whenever he felt like they were necessary and rubbed his feathered head when they weren’t. Recognizing a slight intonation of her voice that usually indicated a question being asked, Wingard finally jerked himself to attention and looked at his companion stupidly for a moment as he raced through his mind to decipher what she had asked. Staring blankly at her when he did, the Kelvic looked down at his exposed body for a moment and then back up to Ainyi before letting out a sigh. Ah, right. Apparently he was too tired to even remember proper Inartan etiquette when it came to the requirement of wearing clothes when strutting about in public areas.

“I apologize for my state of dress, Ainyi,” he started, plunging his hands into his pack quickly as he began drawing out his clothing, “I seem to have forgotten myself whilst escaping the cold upon my arrival.”

As he spoke, he turned away from her and began donning his bryda, forgoing his undergarments for the sake of expediency. Once his boots were settled upon his feet and his heavy scarf wrapped intricately around his neck, the eagle ran his hands through his hair haphazardly before turning around once more to address her. She seemed to have dealt with his state of undress rather well, and for a moment Wingard felt rather stupid over his lack of observation. How long had she been praying to Zulrav for him to clothe himself? Tutting at himself, he smiled at Ainyi as she scurried about, obviously over his nudity as she continued speaking.

He frowned over the bitterness that oozed from her lips over her status, but he refrained from addressing it, knowing that by doing so, he’d only hurt her pride by agreeing with her ill-status. Ainyi was a talented archer, and he felt that she held enough potential to even be a competent hunter, but it was not in his power to make such decisions so to partake in such a discussion was rather fruitless and wasteful of their time. Instead, he watched her silently as she moved, her fluid motions displaying her ease at her job, as he contemplated what he could offer her. He was merely an apprentice hunter, if regarded by the Inartan caste system, but he was also a man that dearly needed a tutor.

Making eye contact with the chiet, he addressed her inquiry on his own status, “I’m afraid my archery talent has begun to plateau. Perhaps when you are free, you would be willing to provide me with your counsel?”

Besides, he thought, Turrin had graciously thrown his hat into the ring when he decided to offer her an apprenticeship. The man was still an enigma to the rapture, but Wingard knew that he, himself, could never make her an Avora, so he trusted that the Endal spoke honestly when he extended the invitation and would assist in her ascension. Turrin was a neon light of hope for Ainyi as well because he knew that before him, her rank, unless an Eagle chose her, would never change. Turrin had shifted her odds into a better position so writhing over her temporary incapability was counterproductive and selfishly, a waste of his own time. Ainyi was not his responsibility and really, not a friend. She was a capable shooter that intrigued his inquisitive nature which brought forth an opportunity for him to learn. He was not heroic enough to have those idealistic notions that she deserved better, but Wingard recognized her worth as a teacher and if having her presence in the Second Quiver, and occasionally his home assisted in her potential to meet an Eagle and raise her standing within Wind Reach, then it would be a happy coincidence.

After all, he was not charitable but Wingard was not arrogant enough to turn away from potential when he saw it.

“What do you say, Ainyi?”

[Ainyi]

Looking Wingard over, the Inarta narrowed her eyes. He looked utterly exhausted. Watching him fall asleep, and then suddenly jerking himself awake mid-conversation worried her, but she bit her tongue. The Famine took a toll on all of us. The Avora may eat better, but hunters are hardly sleeping better.

Suddenly, as if the haze around his mind broke, the hunter seemed to realize his nudity. He apologized and pulled out clothes; she turned away respectfully, minding the tally wall. She paused though, as he described forgetting to dress 'upon arrival'. Furrowing her brow, she eyed him strangely once his clothes were on and she was tending to the rabbit. "You don't mean to tell me you hunted in the snow naked," she poised reproachfully. "You'd be colder than this rabbit's arsehair if you did. Probably would be dead by now." Shaking her head at the foolish notion, she found the hooked skinning knife, and took the rabbit off the hook. She held the carcass over the waste bin and squeezed the lower body, to work out any waste that might still be in the rabbit; thankfully, there was none.

She rehooked the rabbit through the backside, and opened the skin from genitals to the chin. It was about this moment that Edric tentatively approached her about her tutoring him further.

Ainyi bit her lower lip. At first, she didn't respond. She used the skinning knife to pry the fur off of the rabbit's back limbs, and once pried enough, she slipped it off like a skin tight jacket. Dots of blood went flying, speckling the cutting board and Ainyi with small red circles. Her hands dripped with the crimson paint, running along the vein lines of her arms. Entrails and innards flopped out and hung from the body aimlessly with nothing to hold them in.

She liked Edric. He was kind to her, and he seemed to enjoy her company. However, she felt herself trusting him easily, shallowly on that merit alone. How many had her father trusted? How many promised his safety? Took advantage of his talents?

No. She couldn't do that here. She wouldn't. She was too proud for that. Here, she had been helping him freely. It made a relationship here, but she can't just throw herself naively to those who are kind to her. It's time to thicken up. Glancing at her bow and arrows in the corner of the room, she raised her chin proudly, glancing at him seriously, before returning her eyes to moving entrails into the waste bin.

"I can continue to train you," she plainly offered, taking a meat brush and coaxing the pool of blood off the table into waste. "But my time is valuable. Times are hard. You are a strong man, and need no charity. I ask something in return, I think of equal value."

Her eyes arched to lock with his, lips flat lined, eyes beholden to a strange confidence she still did not understand, but went with. "I have a...personal matter I have been investigating in the Warrens every night. It can be dangerous, and difficult sometimes. I would like your company both for my safety, and for a fresh set of eyes. Any time before next Market that suits you."

She was very impressed with herself for her strength and conviction, but she felt awkward holding the gaze after, and excused it to her work. The rabbit carcass fell to the cherry-red table. She lined the head up over the cutting notch.

Thunk.

[Edric Wingard]

The meticulous way she was dissecting the rabbit would have left a weaker man bent over a bucket, tossing the scarce lunch he ingested into it. Wingard, however, watched with an interested eye as he learned the ways of cleaning prey. Considering that usually he didn’t bother sticking around after dropping off his kill to study the Chiet as they completed their jobs, it was a novel experience for the young Kelvic. Obviously, he had never had an incentive to stay either, so Ainyi’s presence on some subconscious level must have been a welcomed one that he was hesitant to say goodbye to.

Cracking his neck as she questioned his state of dress while hunting, it suddenly dawned on the russet-haired man that this little thing had no idea who or what he was. Laughing inwardly at the new

experience, Wingard chided himself on assuming her knowledge on such a subject. Considering the fact that he rarely associated with anyone, let alone the Chiet as they had a tendency to hardly host an opinion on anything of value, she could not be blamed for her ignorance. Smiling lightly, a mischievous glint settled into his golden eyes as he continued to watch her; the evident humour hinting at the joke before it spilt from his lips.

“Why, Ainyi, hunters like myself find themselves at one with the world. I merely bathe in muck to contain my body heat before donning a dress of leaves and bracken to blend in with my surroundings. Then, to cleanse my body I bathe in the waters of Morwen.”

As the Avora spoke, his lips fell into a straight line of seriousness; his tone flat-lining into one of incredulity over her obvious ignorance to the ways of the hunt, “It should be expected, Ainyi, that at one point you don the same dress with Turrin as he tutors you.”

To try and prove his point, Wingard reached over into the blood that had escaped the rabbit as she had slaughtered it masterfully and dipped two fingers in. Without hesitating, he caught her chin lightly with a bare hand before gently caressing her face with blood. He marked her cheek with a bold line of red, the excess disregarding his direction and bleeding outwards through the tiny lines decorating her face. He watched her, their eyes connected as he did so, an unfathomable feeling filling his belly as he completed his macabre joke. Refusing to gap at whatever settled inside of him, the rapture pulled away, his eyes running over her face as it drinking it into his memory.

“There.”

Swallowing, Wingard refused to break eye contact but he stepped back, an inner turmoil of emotions breaking forth in the forefront of his mind. This sensation of warmth was unknown to him and frankly it unnerved him that he didn’t know what it was. At the same time, however, the Kelvic did not want to deal with it so he abruptly changed course in the conversation, and decided it would be best to deal with her condition in which she would train him. He realized how he had skirted around telling her the true reason for why he was naked as the day he was borne, but truthfully, Wingard really didn’t feel like she needed to know of his status.

The condition of which she spoke of intrigued the bird. He easily recalled the quick conversation that had transpired between her and Turrin that fateful day he had met both of them. It was filled with mystery and drama, he could already detect, and in some ways Wingard wanted to be as far away from that as possible. It was obvious that she was an emotional thing that was hindered by whatever tragedy had befallen her father. Did he truly want to immerse himself into something that he assumed the others were treating as a dark, plotted conspiracy? Hardly. However, Wingard also knew he needed assistance if he wished to enhance his skills and the concept of digging through useless information in order to discover the important facts was a rather appealing idea. He was a knowledge whore and perhaps such an unfurling mystery may contain something of consequence to him.

Quirking his head to the side, the Kelvic nodded his acquiesce, “Fair enough, Ainyi. I will agree to escort you through while you investigate, with given notice, in exchange for archery lessons.”

Somewhat hesitant to touch her again, Wingard preformed the general salute of confidence between two warriors and rested a fisted hand across his heart.

He turned his attention away from the Chiet at that point to let her work. As she completed her tasks, the Eagle turned his thoughts inwardly and silently prayed for his bed.

Once she had finished decimating the useless aspects of the hare as well as the salting process, the rapture quickly made his way toward the food stores to assist her with the door under her direction. Opening it, the man immediately detected the noise of movement inside. Knowing quite well that that most certainly was not supposed to be there, the Avora ignored Ainyi in favour of drawing his trusted spider dagger, and slipped inside. The light of the opening door had given away his position, but Wingard was quick on his feet, rushing forward when he spotted the intruder and pinning them mercilessly against a wall. Dagger raised, he placed it gently against the skinny man, his underfed body and ragged clothes an easy indication of his status in Wind Reach.

“Why hello there,” he started silkily, the sounds of the Dek’s struggle music to his ears, “Little mouse, whatever are you doing here?”

Tapping the edge of the blade against its paper-thin skin, Wingard watched with open fascination as it split open under his care. The cut was hardly anything to worry about as it was shallow and small, but the threat that it carried was obvious. The creature, as it could not be considered human since it was stealing nutrition from its own so selfishly, stopped its struggles, the battered feet that were hitting the wall, silenced. It choked on its fear, the blood-stricken eyes wide with fear as it sullied the Nari language with its stutters. The Kelvic refused to help the creature either, watching its inability to speech with obvious delight. It deserved to fear him for such an action against his people was not acceptable.

Eventually the thing was capable enough to talk and its worn voice squeaked out, “It wasn’t for me, I swear! It’s for him – HIM! The one they search for.” Tears were streaming down its face and Wingard didn’t bother hiding his distaste for such weakness, “He said he’d kill me if I didn’t help.”

Believing that the ‘him’ he was referring to was the wretched Despised One that was plaguing their home and incurring the wrath of Zulrav, the Kelvic let out a hiss and slammed the Dek hard against the wall, “Pitiful. Betrayal of your own is hardly worth life. You’re dead, anyway. Where is he?”

The Dek didn’t respond, its voice no longer useful as abhorrent cries tore through its throat and sullied the air that he breathed. Wingard was disgusted. Betraying their own for some creature that Zulrav was looking for and specifically stated he wanted the Inarta to find was stupid. Honestly, the Despised probably would have killed the damn Dek even if he had been successful. Now, having been caught, he would face the exact same fate he had convinced himself he would have avoided. How wasteful. Tsk’ing out loud, the Kelvic let its feet hit the ground again and turned his attention back to Ainyi, studying her reaction to the scene before them.

Dragging the starved man after him, Wingard nodded his head to the blossoming huntress, “I will take him to the authorities. Perhaps their methods will bear more interesting fruit than my own attempts.”

OOCSorry, I know there's a lot going on here. Take your time responding to everything with whatever speed you like. I believe I'm going to use this as my final post unless you ask specific things that I can come back and respond to last. PM me if there are any questions.

[Ainyi]

Slowly, Ainyi began tending to the rabbit's hanging entrails. First, she pulled the intestines out slowly, unwinding them from the tangled mess. They fell from the rabbit's midsection like two slimy, pink strings of pearls. She used the knife to cut where the intestines connected to the colon tract, and moved the attached genitals and internal colon tract to the waste bin. The Chiet followed the string of the intestines to the stomach, and cut it there as well. The stomach and liver could still be used for cooking, so they were set aside to be taken to the Kitchens directly after she delivered some of the salted meat to the Food stores later.

“Why, Ainyi, hunters like myself find themselves at one with the world. I merely bathe in muck to contain my body heat before donning a dress of leaves and bracken to blend in with my surroundings. Then, to cleanse my body I bathe in the waters of Morwen. It should be expected, Ainyi, that at one point you don the same dress with Turrin as he tutors you.”

Her ritual of dressing the rabbit was interrupted by this explanation of Edric's nudity. She noticeably blushed at the thought, but waved it off lightly. "I have no problems with nakedness," She stated, only lying a little bit. "If that is what I must do, that is what I must do. That still doesn't-"

Her words stopped as his hand caught her chin, and held it there, their eyes locking perfectly. She felt his other, blood dipped, hand stroke across her face. There was an electric feeling that his touch gave her, her whole face and scalp tingling under her billowing mahogany locks. As the blood dripped from his placement, the tingling feeling ran down her spine like static, filling her whole body with a warm...happy sensation. It was one Ainyi didn't understand, but she felt it as long as she maintained eye contact with him.

"There."

Even as he stepped back, neither of them seemed ready to let the gaze fall. She studied his features intently, both intrigued and mystified by what this strange, powerful emotion they both felt was. However, a drop of rabbit's blood came down from the carcass and plopped on the tip of her nose, as though trying to alert her once more to the task at hand. She cleared her throat, and offered a bewildered smile as the subject changed to his tutoring, and her conditional agreement.

As she felt a drop of blood drip from her face, she looked at his lean, pale face with a sense of mischief while he considered her return offer. Nonchalantly, she pulled out the rest of the nonedible organs - kidney, spleen, the like - and placed them in the waste bin. As she did so, she dipped one hand in deep to nearly coat it in blood. With the other hand, she cracked the neck of the rabbit to make cutting the head off easier, olive eyes listening to his return intently.

“Fair enough, Ainyi. I will agree to escort you through while you investigate, with given notice, in exchange for archery lessons.”

He was less than an arm's length apart. The Chiet offered her cleaner hand, but quickly withdrew it when he simply saluted. Ainyi pouted, propping her torso forward on the table to close a few more inches on them. "You know how we lowly Chiets make agreements, here in the Processing Center?" She offered quietly, looking around as if there were some deep secret she were about to reveal. She leaned in suspiciously, met his eyes once more...

And slathered her bloody hand across his left cheek, her pinky finger trailing off his jawline to paint his neck. She pulled away quickly, giggling at her own mischievous behavior. "A deal, we have. And now you're all ready to hunt again!" She quipped, face glowing a slight tone pinker than normal. She flicked the excess blood on her hand to the waste bin, wiping off what was left on the butcher's apron she borrowed every day from the Processing Center.

Now, time to refocus on the task at hand. Ainyi took the rabbit off of the meat hook, and held the carcass over the waste bin and used her finger to carve the lungs and heart out of the rib cage cavity, along with any leftover organs that didn't feel like parting from the carcass. The fur was set aside in a separate pile for tanning; she cut the ears off, and put them in the waste as well. Now for the hard part.

Laying the rabbit's carcass on the chopping black. She lined the head up on the notch she practiced on earlier, drew her arm up, and landed it with a firm, harsh thunk. The rabbit's head came off cleanly, though some capillaries burst in the process, so blood wasn't done going everywhere. She placed the head, and it's brain, in the waste bin. Now came the precision work. Taking the cleaver, she placed a short, hard sliced down the sternum. The rib cage splintered, but didn't come apart quickly enough. Another two cuts, and it was open. Putting down the meat cleaver, she picked up the precision knife, and flopped the body on it's side.

Following the grain of the muscle, she sliced along the front right leg, right up to the shoulder joint. Hooking the knife's lowest part of the blade into the joint's gap, she applied as much pressure as she could, until the shoulder gave, and popped off. Turning the limb over, she opened the muscles to find the sinew, and pulled it out of the leg. While it was too short to use for a bowstring, the smaller sinews were great for musical instrument strings, when horse hairs were short. And they were always short on Mount Skyinarta. She repeated the process on the front left leg, and the haunches, until she had four severed limbs and four varying lengths of sinew sitting by the fur. Additionally, she cut the rib cage away, and added it to the pile. The cooks liked to throw that one in the stews; assuming the bones didn't choke anyone. In times like this, she could only barely convince the cook that it wasn't sanitary to eat the rabbit's head; Ainyi didn't know how much longer it would be before they didn't care.

Before moving to the spine, Ainyi inspected the claws; this was an older rabbit, and had larger claws. They could be used as needles, once carved correctly. She took a smaller, finer knife, and using her thumb pressed hard on the foot pad to push the claws out as far as possible. Slowly, she severed the nerves and cartilage until the claws each popped off individually. Some sweat beaded on her face due to the concentration, but she could wipe it without getting even more blood on her face.

That taken care of, all that was left was to graft the meat from the spine, and salt it. Using the filet knife, she cut along the jagged knobs of the spine to free the back muscles from the vertebrae. Once fully finished, the spine was tossed in the stew pile with the other miscellaneous bones with too much meat on them to throw away. For this portion though, she would need clean hands. Pulling the water bucket from below the long table, she dipped her hands in elbow deep, rubbing at her skin with her fingers, bringing them up and drying on a thick white rag that has seen better days. She placed the brine bucket on the table, using the already dirtied knife to toss the two medium size filets in the bucket, mixing them deep in to the salts. She used her hands to work the salt deep into the flesh once they were well coated. By the time she took them back out, they looked like meat shaped cakes of salt.

"Hey, could you go ahead to the Food Store?" She asked Edric breathily. Some hair had fallen forward on her face, stuck to the blood on her cheek. When breathing on it didn't move it, she delicately took a salt caked finger and brushed it behind her ear. "I need to place this in the Curing area, and drop off some dried meats ready to be stored."

She scraped the legs and other stew worthy bones into a copper pot with a large handle and cover and placed it on a clean table. For a rabbit, it was heavy.

Once Edric scampered off, she moved to the Curing Closet in the hottest corner of the room; it had vents to help remove moisture, and was naturally heated by the magma within the volcano. On the colder winter days, the workers would often take turns curing the meat just to share the warmth. She placed the salted rabbit on the nearest hooks, and checked some venison that'd been in now for over two days. It felt dry and tough, and when she sliced it open, no moisture or blood poured out. She hacked the meat into personal pieces, about twelve or fourteen, and placed them in their proper bin to be carried to the Processing Center.

As she unearthed herself from the comfort of the curing closet, she was simultaneously delighted and angry as her shift assistant Denmi showed up. "Where in Caiyha's name have you been?" Ainyi glowered at the woman. "I've been here alone all day." The girl, only freshly graduated from Yasi status, hung her head in guilt. She knew better than to offer an excuse to Ainyi. Ainyi rolled her eyes, turning to go to the Food Stores, until she heard noises.

“Why hello there,” Edric silkily began. Ainyi heard the sound of a struggle. “Little mouse, whatever are you doing here?”

Petch. Someone was stealing from the food store. The Chiet put the meats back in the curing closet, and locked it. Darting back to Denmi, she called with quiet conviction, "A thief here. Get an Endal. Now."

The shy girl nodded her head vigorously, and scampered off quietly. Ainyi grabbed Yasa, and threw her quiver belt over the meat apron. She strung the bow and dipped low, weaving her feet in a quiet grapevine, sneaking as she did in the Warrens with a knocked bow. As she came around the corner, she drew her bow on the waif of the Dek, shortly after he was scared beyond speech. Edric had him pinned with a spider knife.

“I will take him to the authorities. Perhaps their methods will bear more interesting fruit than my own attempts.”

"I say no," She curtly denied, eyes sharp on the Dek. "Listen to me, Dek. You've said enough, that I know you work for the Despised. You're going to answer some questions for me. Every question you don't answer, I take a limb. I shoot your shoulders, your hips, your knees. I suggest kindly that you answer them honestly."

Ainyi paced herself ten feet from the Dek. He began crying, whimpering. "None of that, now," She added with little sympathy. "Be good, and you leave here unharmed. Now then. You work for the Despised, yes?" The Dek nodded hesitantly. "Very good. See? This isn't so hard. Now. Have you heard the name Braghna mentioned, among his followers? Perhaps by the Despised himself?"

"I-I-," the Dek stammered. Ainyi drew the arrow to her chin, watching it whimper. "Yes or no?" She interrogated harshly. "Yes!" he cried in a high pitch voice. Ainyi lowered her bow. Once the Dek caught his breath, he added, "Yes, yes I have. This One has not met the Master. But Braghna is a known name."

"Why do they talk of that name, Dek? Was it negative? Was their talk of killing himl?" The Dek hesitated again. Angrily, Ainyi's fingers twitched on the bow.

Right as she meant to draw the bow and give the Dek a permanent shoulder injury, loud harsh footsteps rounded the corner. Naime, the Endal Ainyi met in her encounter with Turrin. The woman's eyes blazed past her, to violently grab the Dek. At least, blazed past her for a second.

"You, I will deal with in a moment," Naime told the Dek, forcing him on his knees. "You chit, however," she added, directing her gaze back at Ainyi. "A Dek caught in the food stores? Stealing? How the petch could you let this happen?" Naime looked at the bloody smears on both their faces, and scoffed. "Honestly, what were you doing? Were you two too busy playing with blood to realize-"

"No, we weren't," Ainyi interrupted sharply, emerald eyes ablaze with anger. "In case you didn't notice, the supervisor never showed up for shift today. Neither did my Shift assistant, until a chime ago. You can't expect a single person to do all of the duties."

Naime shrugged, shaking her head. "Very well. I'll have a word with your supervisor. But watch yourself, Chiet. Remember your place." She moved to take away the Dek. Ainyi should have shut up. But when did she ever do what she was supposed to?

"I wasn't finished questioning that Dek," She stated, puffing her chest out. "I need to-"

"No, you don't need to do anything," Naime countered. "I remember you. You're that chit Turrin's taken for an apprentice. Well, whatever Turrin saw in you, I don't. You're the dirt on my boots, and whatever you want from this Dek isn't as important as it's punishment." Naime shoved the Dek along, and pulled Ainyi in on her way out. "I don't know what you're investigating in your off time, but I don't like it. It smells of trouble. Whatever it is, I don't want to hear of it again," The woman told her, just loud enough for Edric to hear.

Naime nodded to Edric, with a face that didn't care about the previous events. "Good day, Hunter. Keep up your work." With that, The Endal walked off briskly, Dek in tow.

Ainyi's bow was lowered. Her knuckles were paler than white as they gripped the bow's handle. Her other was balled in a fist by her side. She bit her bottom lip so hard, it nearly bled. Shakily, she took a deep breath, and kept her head hung for a moment.

"I-," She tried to begin quietly, but couldn't. Breathing in again, she raised her head, looking at Edric's feet. Caiyha knows she wouldn't be able to look him in the eyes right now. "I'm sorry you saw that. Perhaps - thank you, for staying to visit. I, I think I need to get back to work."

She felt stupid even saying that. What work? Chopping more boredom? She had dealt with caste shame before, but after that moment - that fleeting, tingling moment gazing in his eyes - it was as though that shame and embarrassment consumed her. She just wanted to hide her face from Edric on this moment. It was so hot with rage, she felt the blood dry and crack.

[Edric Wingard]

As the wet substance spilt across his face tarnishing the pale skin beneath, Wingard merely blinked owlishly. It was slippery as it left her fingers; marking him as it slipped down his chin and dripped onto the cold, unfeeling floor below. For a moment silence ensued, the quiet drip, drip, drip of blood the only sound brave enough to interrupt such tension. It was beginning to pool on the floor, he noted absently, his gaze focused solely on the girl before him, and he figured she should probably clean it up before it congealed.

He contemplated why he allowed her to touch him in such a way. His eyes, always so keen, had seen the slight indications of mischievousness that practically twitched from her fingers. He could have easily defused her attempt on his person, grabbing that thin hand out of the air like a child would a bubble,

but for some mind-boggling reason, the Kelvic had relented and let her touch him. Generally the idea of such an action would make him cringe as such a connection should be valued far more than it was, but Ainyi’s warm caress soothed his soul and for a moment, knocked the breath from his lungs.

How curious, he thought. His only inclination to make contact was just as baffling as his allowance for her but the Eagle figured it was a topic to be contemplated over when the actual woman wasn’t present.

Shaking his head now, Wingard watched the woman wordlessly. A moment ago, they had been enjoying the act of playfulness; a concept that in the midst of winter was utterly foreign. Then, a brilliant smile had claimed her features, lighting her face prettily and enhancing the natural beauty that seemed to be hidden beneath a mane of hair and blood. Now, however, as her face contorted vengefully, her abrupt actions unexpected, the Kelvic silently wondered about who he was dealing with. This side of Ainyi was an enigma; the anger and ruthlessness that she channeled unappealing to his sensitivities. Wingard understood the disgust that one could feel over the betrayal of their people to someone as pathetic and stupid as a man to be marked poorly by a God, but her actions were uncalled for – especially since he had the situation under control.

His features didn’t alter from the frown that was already marring them, but it was no longer just directed at the Dek. Ainyi was rather out of control, he thought, watching as she frantically spit-fired questions at the incoherent man. The creature was far gone in his fear and each answer he provided was hardly useful aside from repeating information that they already knew until she started going off in her own direction. He quirked his head to the side as she did this, but he didn’t relinquish his hold on the Dek and the Kelvic subtly shifted his body in between the two of them. It was not that he was unsympathetic to whatever investigation she was partaking in – well, he actually was but that was beside the point – but it really wasn’t her place to be interfering with something that was God-like in its manner.

Frankly, she had overstepped the line and Wingard wasn’t too pleased about it. This side of her was somewhat unappealing to the Eagle and he realized that he needed to rethink his association with such a firecracker. She held the typical traits of an Inarta, her emotions leading her foolishly around rather than her brain. Considering making a comment over her threatening manner, the Avora was ready to speak when he heard the quickly approaching footsteps of two more people. Sure enough, an Endal whose face he recognized but couldn’t bother to remember her name appeared and took the initiative to rip into the Chiet. The hunter kept silent and merely lifted his chin in a nod to the woman as he handed over the deserter. She disappeared soon enough, and Wingard turned his attention back to him companion.

She was stuttering through a pathetic excuse of an apology, her fists clenched so tightly that he easily noted the whiteness of her knuckles. His eyes were dull and unsympathetic as he stared at her. Ainyi had done this to herself, humiliating herself by acting in such a rash manner. He wouldn’t bother trying to understand her reasoning – especially since it was so illogical that it resulted in such idiotic actions – but she seemed rather upset and the Kelvic really couldn’t have that.

He waved off her thanks for his company and moved to walk past her, easily recognizing when he was asked politely to go, but stopped a few feet away to initiate eye contact. Staring at her, he spoke softly, his voice to-the-point and unmoving in its apathy, “I will not bother stating I understand, however, you need to start acting less rashly and use your capable mind in order to investigate. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time, as well as my own. Subjectivity is pointless; your emotions will only lead you astray.”

Placing a light hand on her shoulder, he barely touched her in comfort before disappearing around the corner of the entry. He needed to bathe; the blood itched.

[Skerry]

Grades

Ainyi

Skill	XP
Butchery	5
Flirting	1
Food Preservation	1
Interrogation	2
Intimidation	1
Negotiation	1
Observation	5
Organization	1
Planning	1
Rhetoric	1
Skinning	2
Socialization	2

LORES :

• Organization: Keeping a tally
• Skinning: How to skin a rabbit
• How to gut a rabbit
• Anatomy of a rabbit
• Useable parts of a rabbit
• Interrogation: Using fear to try to get answers
• Importance of Knowing One's Place

Edric

Skill	XP
Flirting	1
Hunting	1
Interrogation	1
Intimidation	2
Observation	5
Rhetoric	2
Stealth	1
Tracking	2
Weapon: Spider dagger	2

LORES :

[list][*]Stealth: Moving slowly minimises noise
[*]Tracking: Ageing scat by its temperature
[*]Tracking: Rabbit prints
[*]How to throw a dagger
[*]How to clean out a rabbit (basic)
[*]Interrogation: Using fear to try to get answers
[*]Ainyi: An Enigma when angry

Notes:
Just so there's no confusion, despite the mention of hare in a few places, I went with rabbit because it was used more. If you want it changed, PM me.

Enjoyed this. The interaction between the two is very intriguing and I look forward to more. You had wonderful butchery descriptions, Ainyi so the max of 5 was well deserved.

Remember if you have any questions or problems with your grade then feel free to PM me.