Open [The Bronze Woods] Another Chance.

[Medhozic]

47th Day of Winter, 513AV. Today, he wasn't hunting. But he was exploring. The forests were a beautiful place, there was no doubt in his mind or anyone else's as far as he knew. In such close proximity, he supposed that they were the reason that the Kelvic's seemed to be able to hold themselves close to the city. There was always a place like this that they could relax in. It certainly worked for him. Bells at a time, he could spend simply wandering aimlessly through the thick underbrush, listening to the endless buzz of activity from the small mammals. In the summers, of course, there would be more insects buzzing around, probably more animals and wildlife as a whole. As it was, the thin branches were barren and empty - although there would always be that distinct hum of life, its volume had degenerated rapidly. If anything, he loved it all the more. Tranquil, peaceful. Of course, regardless of how he thought of the forest as such a relaxing atmosphere, he wouldn't do it unprotected. Not because of the forests, but of the other creatures that could be found in them. Symnestra, Zith, Kelvic, and worst of all humans. He'd never gone unprotected into the forest and he wouldn't start today. A short-bow pressed against his back with the wooden limbs, and the drawstring tight to his chest - alongside it, his leather quiver of 20 arrows, and on the other side, his empty sack to bring back whatever he caught. He didn't feel hungry now.. but during the night, there would be no telling. And he didn't want to end up hungry overnight with nothing but his rations, it was always better safe than sorry. On top of all that, there was the Kopis strapped to his hip, with the curved edge handy in case he should come across anything particularly dangerous. He stopped after a few moments of wandering to catch his bearings. The Sukina Geysers, he'd passed some time ago. Beautiful things, if somewhat hazardous to be nearby. Now he was approaching somewhere between the Geysers and the Aylasa Caves, when he turned and began a trek further up the hills and towards the Cobalt ranges. In truth, he'd never actually ventured out so far as the mountains, they were still forbidden territory too far to plan out a successful hunting venture, let alone with the creatures that lived upon its mountainous surface - mountain lions, and those giant vulture-things that he'd only once had the unpleasant luck to encounter. Hopefully it would be his last. So he continued around the edges of the forest, framing it with a few occasional scuffles on the steep ledges of the hills, and the old and broken trees stripped of most of their lifeforce during the winter drains. Until, at least, he came to something particular. A fallen tree, stripped of most of its branches in the fall by the looks of t, leaning against another and forming a small holding in the gap that would easily fit a full-grown man, and maybe another. It was here that he set himself down for a midday rest, the bow set down within arms reach and the kopis dug into the wood of the broken trunk, while he gathered some small sticks and took out his flint - to try and make a fire. Winters were cold.

[Kizora DuLonite]

This forest was murderous. She could feel it in her iced bones. Her nerves were shot, and every noise in the forest had her reaching for her weapon. There was something out there, she just couldn't see it yet.

Her fingers rose and ran themselves through her hair. Feelings like these didn't come often, but sometimes, sometimes they did. Only when she thought about the past too long. Only when she though about her parents.

She wanted wood. Wood for carving. The practice helped her think, and though she wasn't very good at it. Still, crafting something always makes her feel better. The thought that if she can form something else into something else, maybe she could do the same to herself. The wind cut at her face, a wicked enemy.

The cold was beautiful, but as she approached a fallen tree, it worried her, especially when she heard a rustle behind the tree. It seemed the perfect type for carving, but she didn't want to mess with anything vicious. It was a nice challenge most of the time, but not now. Her bones were too chilled.

The wood though...Her throat constricted as she screeched with the voice of a raven. It scared most animals away pretty quickly, so she could only wait and watch for what emerged from underneath.

[Medhozic]

He flicked away at the flint, grinding it against soft stones with a few sparks until the small pile of sticks and leaves began to sizzle and smoke. It took a few more leaves and a few more sticks until he could at least settle the flames to something a bit more adequate - it was small, but warm. Thankfully there was a plentiful supply hidden in the small cove of the trees upended roots, allowing small roots to flourish that he could tear out and add to the flames when needed. It was one of the wonders that some people never even considered - the merits of spending just a few chimes wandering through the forests and exploring the knowledge held on the plants and animals inside, whether in small books or in hands-on knowledge. It just showed the perfect ways to start fires, and yet it was something not even the experienced wilderness survivalists knew, and they knew so much that he couldn't even imagine. With the call of a raven not too far, just over his shoulder, he picked up the short-bow and a single arrow from the quiver, turning on his heels so that his right knee could rest the bottom of the bow. Crouched in a ready stance, he searched through the darkness of the forests shadows, illuminated by the pale orange glow that glittered faintly off the thick horns that wound back over the sides of his head, holding up the dark brown hair like a curtain around his shoulders. He wasn't completely sure if he could spot the raven, but he was sure that it wouldn't be all too hard - at the least he could scare it away, and at the most, he'd have some meat to attract a larger animal with for hunting. Bait, more or less. However, when he did look out from under the small enclave, what he found was a girl. Obviously not a girl - the skin and eyes were all wrong, the hair too black. Kelvic, then. From the call, a raven. He'd actually never come across a Kelvic that had such a blatant animal form. Most of them were just canines or felines with odd eyes and mannerisms; this one looked more like an animal with a human form, than a human with an animal form. And for that reason, he didn't lower the bow. He just kept it aimed straight for the chest, as he rose languidly from his little hole. "What do you want." He spoke crisply and stretched the arrow further back in its seat, the feathers cresting the end brushing along his marble-smooth cheek. "And why are you disturbing me. Can't you see that I don't have time for idle chat." Some were so inconsiderate of others. Unfortunately, the majority of them were Kelvic by the many that he'd come to meet. They all seemed to want to come to the biggest city at the heart of the domain, even though they surely wished for the mountains and the forests of the wildlands scattered between.

[Kizora DuLonite]

Her immediate reaction was to reach for her weapon when the horned man emerged from behind the log. The sight was stunning, almost surreal. It had been a long time since she'd seen an Ethaefel. Ages, really. The faint memory of one of her parents many traveling companions came to mind. She couldn't remember much, though.

"I don't want violence. I'm sorry if I disturbed you. The tree there, the fallen one, it looks good for wood. I just wanted to chip off a few pieces. The woods are dangerous, I had only hoped to scare off whatever animal may have lurked underneath it."

She studied him carefully as she spoke. This was a learning opportunity. Her first interaction away from a group with someone neither Kelvic or Human. There was a certain fear though...

Her knowledge of other races felt so limited, and the dangers of others still unknown. The man could shoot her know for all she knew. The wind struck her in the back again, and she bit her tongue, doing her best not to shiver. Carefully, her eyes fixated on the bow and his horns for a few seconds before shifting to gaze just slightly beyond him in a peaceful, passive way. Slowly, she took a step forward, making sure to keep her hands, though itching to arm herself, away from the weapon and in plain sight.

[Medhozic]

His eyes became half-lidded as she explained her predicament, but the bow didn't lower. Naiive. She'd tried to scare off an animal when she didn't know what it was. It could have been a bear; she could have been killed by waking it and alerting it of fresh meat. She was lucky that it was someone she could talk with - otherwise she could have died just as quickly as he could have released the arrow. At least she had the common decency to ask though. Polite; something one didn't normally see from a Kelvic, some manners. Not the many that he'd met anyway. They were all hyperactive, or all silent, or all imbalanced in one way or another that made them seem alien and slightly off-kilter, like they didn't have all of their mind in one place. He supposed that it was true anyway - if one was sharing a body with a beast, then they could be forgiven for being at least a little strange. This one was different though. She looked completely non-human but she acted very human. Quite interesting, even. "Take it. Try to steal anything that is mine and I will put my arrow through your back." And that was it. The bow lowered and the arrow removed itself from the limbs, placed back inside the leather quiver and the short-bow left beside it as he returned to the smoldering fire, adding a few more torn-up weeds from around the fallen tree and a few branches that were still stuck from the edges. He didn't look back up to her, not even to check if she was planning on drawing whatever weapon he'd seen her reaching for. He had his kopis and whatnot; and apparently all she wanted was a bit of wood. And he had fire. Kelvic's hated fire, he was sure. "You're a bird, aren't you." That much was obvious if she was making such ridiculous bird-calls. "You're a raven. So why do you need wood. Are you trying to build a house." That'd be an obvious explanation for it all. Or at least as close to something obvious. It wouldn't be practical. Birds needed nests, was she making a nest? But if she was, then she'd always have to be in animal form to live in it. And nests didn't have good roofs.

[Kizora DuLonite]

She couldn't stop laughing. Build a house? In Cobalt Woods? The words were kind of misplaced with his stern face. Between hearty laughs, she answered his question.

"No, no. Not a house. Not out here, with the wicked creatures roaming and what not. I like to carve. I need the wood for carving. And yes, I'm a raven Kelvic. Guess that was pretty easy to assume. And again, I don't want violence. What are you doing out here? Hunting ?"

She pulled out her eating knife, and started chipping at the fallen tree. It was definitely not the best tool for carving, but until she got to Syliras, it would have to do. The wood was damp, and splintered a little every now and then. The little pieces of wood poked at her fingers, but she was careful not to let them draw blood. When she yanked a few branches away to get to the base of the wood, she chucked it down next to him.

"It's too cold to be out here without a good fire."

The stranger seemed quite guarded, and she hoped the gesture would be taken as friendly.

[Medhozic]

His nose wrinkled at her laughter. He could never tell if someone was laughing with him or at him, and in her case, he got the distinct feeling that she was laughing at him. He hadn't said anything funny, he thought. At least she stopped it after a while and he could return to focusing on his fire; he was already growing a dislike of her, although he tried not to let it show too much. Not out of necessity but courtesy. He wasn't so detached from social contact to know that most didn't exactly like it when you showed them just how much you disliked the way they laughed, the way they talked and the way they moved. He didn't like to be called racist, in particular. And in truth, he wasn't. He disliked all races with pretty much equal footing. It was just that he'd met too many Kelvic's roaming around the forests with little better to do than annoy him, or try to boss him around, or undermine him like they had a working knowledge of his life. And this one wasn't doing much better in his mind. "Wicked creatures. If there are such wicked creatures about the forests then you shouldn't be here at all; house or no." That was the first part that made no sense to him, although it certainly wasn't the only part. A bird carving - the idea just made him want to laugh as much as she had done, but he kept it all bottled inside and his gaze drawn down to the small fire that he nursed occasionally with small roots uplifted from around. One in particular sent up a flush of warmth and he suddenly wished that he'd payed less attention on trying to sate the girls thirst for knowledge and more on important things, like fire. "I heard you the first time. No violence. But you are a bird, and you want to carve. Why." His questions came as a priority. Hers were irrelevant. But he answered them anyway - after all, blasted social etiquette and all that shyke. "I am hunting. Or I will, soon. For now, I will rest in warmth." As he spoke, his eyes lifted to the sound of metal on wood.. and he ended up simply staring at her for several long moments. She.. was carving with an eating knife. The thing wasn't even sharp! She must have been delirious - one of those Kelvics that lost their minds to the forest. He didn't know if they existed, but if they did, she must have been one of them, to try such a thing. Not to mention what she was doing, wandering around the forest with an eating knife and trying to carve things with that, of all things to carve with! Eventually, he took pity on her and pointed over to the kopis still embedded in the wood, jutting out just beside her hip where she'd begun. "If you are trying to collect wood, use that." With a curved edge and most of the weight centered at the top, it was literally designed for cutting away at dense foliage. Not so sure about cutting into thick wood, but it was better than a damn eating knife. But there was a reason he'd not used it to cut into the tree himself to add wood to the fire. He wanted a small, manageable fire that would use little fuel and burn for a long time than a big one that would last five minutes, consume all of the fuel and generally be little use if any. "I don't need your wood. I have a perfectly normal fire. If you can make a better one then do it yourself."

[Kizora DuLonite]

"I'm sorry."

The words came out quickly, reflexively. It was something she had trained herself to do, out of habit, and observation. People liked knowing they weren't at fault, even when they might be.

"I'm sorry. I was only trying to help. The fire is looks wonderful..."

Her words trailed off, as she couldn't find the words to explain. He was short, and she didn't really know how to deal with it. His words did hit a chord in her, though. A bird? To think some saw her as nothing but a bird... He reminded her of her mother's abuser. She was more than just an animal.

"I am not just a bird. I carve because I enjoy creating things."

The words came out strong, and somewhat curt. Purposeful or not, she forced herself to calm down. If she wanted to prove the words as true, she had to act that way. She focused on a softer, more even keeled tone.

"Its okay, I don't need your sword, I have my own. I wanted to see how the wood cut."

She slipped the small knife back into her pack, and unhooked her curved sword. Her fingers pushed against the flat of her blade as she dug it into the base of the wood. She figured it would be best to make a peace offering.

"I have some dried meat...Would you like some?"

[Medhozic]

At her words, he turned back to the fire again, warm hands presented to the meager flickers of warmth for sustenance. "It's nothing." But then she spoke again and repeated herself, and he forced himself to pass a cooling glance up at the raven-girl with his piercing eyes. "I said it's nothing. Forget it." Her compliment was ignored entirely; she'd already dug the hole and she wasn't helping to pull herself up. Already he looked down on her, regardless of his stature. Always, there were those that he crossed who would not lift a finger to another. It was almost sad, in a way.. the arrow that could have gone through her neck, when she was trying to scare him away. And all of the other horrible things that could have once been done, and would be done eventually. Sometimes, it was fun to let the ideas and speculations of their lives to unravel before his eyes - the abuse, the torment, and the eventual death by some random person on the street simply dragging her down and ending her. The strong fed from the weak. But then she surprised him abruptly with her brash words, a brief explanation and nothing more. Even though it was still daylight and strong, he felt the cast of shadow from the tree and the weak flames brightly contrasting the opposite halves of his face as he looked up from his deep crouch, half concealed. Half an expression of somewhat mild surprise, and half forgotten. "Not just a bird, hmm. But what else are you. You couldn't even pass for humans if you tried; not like the other Kelvics." His words sought to undermine, but his heart still respected her. She'd surprised him, at least - moving so suddenly from quiet, meek, reserved.. but there was something underneath that he hadn't anticipated - something bold, probably held back by something darker. Perhaps held back by something else, although his words had obviously shredded the barricades that held it in. A torn nerve, a frayed memory of pain and anguish, forgotten and buried, but the tombstone was still above the ground, and it would always be, he knew. He'd been right, then. The things that had happened, had happened. It was like a little puzzle, playing with the minds and the memories that they tried to hide away and protect. Though she was unique. The others that he'd seen, barren husks.. like him. But she had something else, something bolder. And what would happen in the future? He politely raised a hand with the palm towards her, rather than lifted; meat was not needed. He would hunt his own, and he was not hungry. He'd never be hungry, during the day. The night was the problem; she didn't need to know it though. He didn't need to rely on her charity, although... "You like to carve things. And you have a sword." Well, at least she wasn't trying it with a petching eating knife like the moron he'd once took her for. "Show me some of your carvings."

[Kizora DuLonite]

"Appearances don't make you human. I think, I create, I live for more than day to day survival, so I am therefore more than a bird. I'm assuming you've met other Kelvics then? Were they not the same?"

The question was less to prove a point, and more to sate her own curiosity. After leaving her parents, she'd only met one other Kelvic, and she had acted more animal than human. She only hoped her tone reflected such. He seemed the type to take offense easily.

He was a different one. Somewhat withdrawn, and angry, but he was clearly nothing but human at heart. Only humans allow themselves to be curious.

"I've only ever met another Ethaefel. It was many, many years ago, when I was a child. I do not remember very well, actually. But I assume you would feel the same if one compared you to a ghost."

She hoped the words would provide a connection, as he had denied all but one. He wanted to know about her carvings. It was kind of a contradicting action, after shutting her out, denying her hope to make the whole interaction more friendly. Kizora passed it off as a simple difference in her head. Those who have faced pain must often feel they are protecting themselves. She had seen it a few times, sometimes in herself. The minute he mentioned the carving, her hand shot up to her necklace.

"I actually have done many...Its a practice I picked up after I left my parents. My mother taught me the basics. There's a storm I did the other day, but it's not that great."

She dug the carving out of her back pocket, analyzing the crude curves and angles knicked into the wood before strolling over to the horned man. It certainly wasn't anything beautiful, but she was proud of it. She held it out in her hand purposefully, instead of just placing it down next to him. Short of the weapon he'd aimed at her earlier, she'd yet to get a look at any details.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name. I'm Kizora."