Closed [Bronze Woods] Hunting Words (Billie)

[Nayato]

6th Day of Summer, 514 AV
Morning, 11th Bell

"Fly high bird, fly high, into a drifting cloud. Your feathers scorched by golden sand, ever searching through endless heat...” There was something in Nayato's eyes that hinted at being privy to a lost secret, and he had been speaking the same short poem in his native language of Tawna. He repeated what sounded like melodic gibberish.With each completion of the saying he elongated a word here or accentuating a word there, however, he never did the same thing twice. Only using his feelings to give meaning to the words as he 'spoke the music' as was common for the Chaktawe's cultural way of singing.

HIs words shifted from Tawna to the human common language. "The sands swept high, cut by a single birds cry, the sands rolled high, into the sky. The cloud was lost, the cloud was lost. A Mirage which tricked the eye. Our hope not lost, the bird, so brave. Absent eyes seek to see another day.” Nayato's voice was absent of melody, however it was distinctly clear that he was speaking a song. Syna shone brightly from above, her light grazing softly against the his skin. It was such a lovely day that he had decided to remove his armor, leaving it inside up his tent as he sat crosslegged and bare chested in front of a circle of stones that would eventually become his camp fire once it was lit.

To his right side, lounging on its back, was his ever loyal dog companion named Osawa. The large Akinva Deerstalker happily accepting a vigorus belly rub from Nayato. His hand lightly scratching at Osawa's rib cage which seemed to spur the dogs hide right foot into action; violently flailing into the air as it was scratched into pure doggy bliss. To his left laid his shortbow and quiver of arrows. Squire Nayato was glad when his patron Knight Ser Cagus had given him the day to go train with his bow in anyway the squire saw fit, so it was only natural that he set up camp to go hunting.

This moment he ceased scratching the dogs belly, the hunting dog rolled to its side lazily flopping over, it was a hilarious sight to see in Nayato's openion as the creature soon stood up on all fours to lick and nudge at his hand. Soon though the Squire joined Osawa by raising to his feet. He slipped his quiver onto his back before griping his shortbow in his right hand. A sharp piercing whistle caused Osawa's ears to fold back. The whistle was a command to be on guard which explained why its tail stopped wagging.

"The sands swept high, cut by a single birds cry, the sands rolled high, into the sky. The cloud was lost, the cloud was lost. A Mirage which tricked the eye. Our hope not lost, the bird, so brave. Absent eyes seek to see another day.” He spoke softly in an arid whisper, although soft, was just as musical as before while walking forward to go begin the hunt. His companion following behind him with nose to the ground in attempt to sniff out danger.

He had barely walked a few meters from his campsite before something caught his attention at the base of a tree. Nayato crouched low to the ground, fingers dipping into a depression on the ground. He brushed at it swat away loose foliage. The depression was some type of animal track. He leaned in closer to try and make out what type of creatures visited the clearing, outlining the print with his index finger.

"The sands swept high, cut by a single birds cry, the sands rolled high, into the sky. The cloud was lost, the cloud was lost. A Mirage which tricked the eye. Our hope not lost, the bird, so brave. Absent eyes seek to see another day.” This time speaking the words in Tawna as he stood up to look down at the track.

[Billie]

Billie stared blankly up at the sky through the trees. Her short hair didn’t move much in the slight breeze. It was warm, so she wore a plain white singlet and tan coloured, fairly loose trousers for comfort. Sunlight poured down, speckling the grown with pinpricks of light. It was a beautiful place to walk, and forage as well, though she hadn’t done much of anything useful since she got here. She was starting to think this was pointless and she should just head back home and practice riding Sula or something, when she heard something that sounded foreign to her ears. It was a language, no doubt, but one she’d never heard before. Curiosity forced her to venture forward to see who had spoken in that strange tongue. Listening, she now heard the common tongue. The words were still confusing to her. They sounded like some kind of song that was being spoken without the melody. She couldn’t see him yet.

She found what must be his campsite and just a few meters away she spotted him. Falling back a little into the foliage, Billie observed him curiously. As soon as she saw his eyes it was obvious he was a Chaktawe, so that language she had heard him speak must have been Tawna. He was athletic, with rich ebony skin and long pitch black hair that matched the colour of his eyes. He was reciting verses to himself while bent low to examine something on the ground. He looked concentrated and Billie didn’t want to disturb him, or provoke the sturdy looking dog that followed at his heels, ears layed back against it’s head.

However, the only other option was to go back to the city and be bored, and unproductive. Maybe she could learn a thing or two from this stranger if she could hit it off with him. And while she was an introvert, she did need company every once in a while. He might have already sensed her, though he certainly wouldn’t have heard her. She moved out from the trees onto the track and into his field of view. “Good morning” She said politely and evenly, though her lips never moved into a smile, rather her expression was always neutral.

Her blue eyes traveled downwards to find what the man had been looking at. It was clearly some kind of animal track, though she didn’t know which. So he was hunting, or tracking. Hunting was a mystery to her, she wouldn’t even begin to know how to catch and skin her own food. It would be worth observing this man in his hunt, if he didn’t mind, of course. She also looked cautiously at the dog in case he was aggressive. She looked back up at the Chaktawe again “Sorry, you look busy, I didn’t mean to disturb you. But If you wouldn’t mind, may I watch while you hunt?” She asked “Feel free to ignore me, I’m very quiet” she added quickly, in case he’d rather not have a stranger he felt obliged to talk to tagging along. “I’m just interested in learning myself, and I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

[Nayato]

Something was approaching. Nayato and Osawa both seemed to notice it at the exact same time although in the own way. For the Chaktawe, Billie's movement disturbed the natural calm in the air causing the black freckles on his finger tips to tingle resulting in him quickly glancing towards her direction. For Osawa, the large dog only had to sniff out before turning to face the woman with bared fangs.

Nayato's eyes were cold, hard in the way they remained with their ebony bore, studying the fine lines of the newcomers features for a moment. In truth, he had confused her for a young man up until he took note of a distinct femininity. For the sake of their company, he'd quelled Osawa's protective anger by holding a hand out to pat him on the head. “Calm.” The command was spoken in Tawna making it clear that the creature was trained to have an ear for the Chaktawe language.

Once the command was given Osawa relaxed into an upright posture with ears flopping forward, no longer prone with intent to attack. Nayato was many things. Opinionated, idealistic, and valiant in the face of danger; but at least he had it within himself to be unrelentingly generous, and selfless. It was never in his nature to be outright rude to anyone.“Hail there, and good morning to you as well.”

Nayato tilted his head slightly as he regarded the woman, smiling softly. "It's okay, you haven't disturbed me," he said with a quiet laugh. "I have hardly even begun tracking my prey. My name is Nayato, a Squire within the Order of Syliran Knights." He looked down towards the Akinva Deerstalker that sported fur brown with a white stripe going down his the length of its belly and a single white patch covering his hide right. "And this is my brother... Osawa." The dog nuzzled up against Nayato's hand as he petted him.

"It is no trouble at all to me, so feel free to join me on the hunt. And if you wish to learn to hunt, then you need to learn to track." He stood aside to motion a hand towards the prints at the base od the tree. "A track that is oval in shape with four toes on each foot. There are five, but rabbit tracks always only show four. From the size of the track it is clearly an Adult." He turned to look into the distant forest where the tracks were leading. "There is where we shall begin."

[Billie]

Both beast and man noticed her at the same time, turning around, the man regarded her, his void-like eyes considering her appearance carefully as she stood her ground. He seemed to notice her as soon as she had come close to him, whipping around quickly.

As she had expected, the dog was protective and acted aggressively towards her. She was sure not to look in the beasts eyes as it bared it’s fangs at her. The Chaktawe man looked her over, and then gave his dog a command in Tawna, which probably meant something along the lines of ‘no threat’ or ‘friend’ from the way the animal reacted. He immediately relaxed, ears, which had been flat against his head moment earlier, were now flopping forward. She was glad he hadn’t been annoyed with her, surely some would be. It was good he had only just begun his hunt.

When she learned that he was a squire, it surprised her. Not because of his race, but because he was out hunting. Food should be provided for squires, so why did he bother? He must have a passion for it. She knew next to nothing about the Chaktawe culture, and so she couldn’t really question him. However, he would certainly be interesting to talk to.

He seemed generous, and kind as well. She could see he was pleasant man, not one to be rude or unfriendly. She figured he was also a man with a lot of stories to tell, having hailed from the deserts so far from here. “Thank-you, Nayato. It’s appreciated.” She said politely, returning the smile a little “I’m Billie.” She offered. She looked down at the dog again as he nuzzled up against his masters hand. She liked dogs, they were loyal animals, it was just finding the money to look after one that stopped her from wanting one too desperately.

The Chaktawe began to explain the tracks he had been looking at. She listened intently and made a mental note to remember what he was saying. She hadn’t expected him to narrate his tracking or hunting for her. The best she’d hoped for was to be able to follow him as he went about his work. But it was definitely appreciated. Billie nodded “Noted.” She said following his eyes down the forest.

[Nayato]

Nayato glanced down to Osawa, a quiet chuckle slipping past his lips. He reached down, brushing his fingers lightly along the dog's spine. He only gave Osawa a moment's attention; something which would no doubt earn him his fair share of doggy judgment and complaint later on, but that was later on, and though it merited a moment's amusement, by and large his thoughts were elsewhere on the hunt. He removed his left hand from the creatures body resulting in the dog staring at him.

And so Nayato began his steady tread through the Bronze wood with his faithful dog at his side, only assuming that the woman would follow as he began his hunt. The equipment he wore across his back consisting of his backpack and quiver. His khopesh sword hanging from his side, a tomahawk half-hatch resting against his lower back where it was snugly set into his belt, and lastly a dagger held in its sheath within his right moccasin boot. There was no lack of caution in the Squires movements as each turn of his head seemed sharp, nearly bird like, taking in any information he could about his surroundings.

There were several insightful cautions he gave priority to. The first of these thought were the time of day, since the day had only began he knew it would be sometime until nightfall. His second thought was related to ambient animal life, currently the birds had all started to chirp giving the forest its distinct sound of nature. This meant as the smaller wild life came out, the larger game was also out to hunt for food. That provided a danger to his personal survival, likewise it meant maybe he could bag himself a good sized stag for venison.

Nayato began to think like a rabbit. It was a laughable idea, however the simplest ideas tended to work. He kept his slow pace as he walked, only turning his head slightly towards Billie to tell her what he was doing. "Rabbits are incredibly nervous animals. They are hunted constantly by predators and excitement is something they can't handle. Now where would such an animal hide? With its small size it can be housed within brush piles, fallen trees, and other areas dense with forest cover. That is what I am looking for."

He hardly found any tracks worth following. His pace halted only to crouch down over fresh animal droppings around a bush with chewed vegetation. It meant some of animal had been feeding on it which was the sign that something was in the area. The droppings were far too large to be from a rabbit which drew a interesting look from the Chaktawe. ""Fly high bird, fly high, into a drifting cloud. Your feathers scorched by golden sand, ever searching through endless heat~” The words were sung with an arid rasp to his voice. The poetic song spoken with intent to give voice to the words that were repeating through his mind. When he stood up from examining the dropping he turned to Billie as a thought crossed his mind.

"Tell me? Have you ever heard the story of Why The Golden Wolf Howls?"

[Billie]

Nayato and his dog set off at a steady pace. Billie followed closely behind him as he trudged through the forest. It was wondrous to watch the man work. Every little movement seemed to have a purpose. He seemed graceful, and assertive in each step. His head darted around like a bird, and he noticed everything Billie didn’t. All she could do was follow and tread quietly, trying to match each turn of his head, to see each thing he saw and to hear every noise he heard. She tried to think like a tracker. What would she need to consider? What she was hunting, and what would be out at this time of morning. However all she could hear was the chirping of birds.

They were, however, hunting a rabbit, and Nayato’s next words made her think like one. She imagined being tiny, and defenseless, and constantly hunted by bigger, more ferocious animals. She imagined a rabbit’s darting head, and twitching nose, always looking for the next threat. Nayato went on to outline the places where rabbits would usually hide and Billie nodded soundlessly.

Billie stopped walking when she saw the Chaktawe stop to stoop over something. Upon investigation she saw that it was animal droppings of some kind. They didn’t look like the pellets left behind by rabbits, though she couldn’t tell what animal they were from beyond that observation. She looked at Nayato when he spoke again the nonsensical tuneless words, again wondering what they meant.

She was about to ask when he asked her a question of his own “Can’t say I have.” She replied “But I’ve heard the Chaktawe have a gift for storytelling, so I’d love to hear it.” She said with a smile to show she was interested. There was no written language for Tawna, and so, stories were passed down through generations. It was an interesting and foreign concept to Billie. She was sure getting to know Nayato would broaden her knowledge significantly. Maybe she could even learn some of his language in the future. For now she was willing to listen to anything he felt like sharing with her.

[Nayato]

His eyes glanced about the open spaces of the forest, taking in the things that lay about him. A collection of red maple trees were densely gathered, a horizon beyond them only showed scattered paths through a collective of slim birch trees, and as he turned to his left; a fallen maple tree laid on its side. Its deeply rooted base still firmly planted within the ground next to the fallen trunk. The tree had rotten and splintered leaving it covered in a thick layer of moss covered and crawling with insects. He went to investigate the area, speaking towards her even though his attention wasn't currently on her.

“Once, a great many years ago, there was a shortage of food which blazed through the whole of Eyktol like the burning sands.” His already slow pace turned into a slugs craw when his tone of voice deepened into angered sadness. It was a true emotional reaction as he thought about the start of his story. “The horrible drought was dreadful for my people. We were starving, our suffering nearing that which we had endured after the Valterrian. The desert cows, the goats, and the animals that we raised and hunted died.”

His story was halted by a sensation of movement which nipped at his fingers like cool water. It came from the direction to the immediate left of the fallen tree and caused Nayato to lift his shortbow into a firing position. He stopped speaking to listen to the ambient sounds of the forest. The chirping of singing birds, the hushed sound of leaves rattling in a dry summer breeze, and buzz of insects. It all seemed normal. However, not all was as it appeared to be.

Nayato removed a single arrow from his quiver with his fingers gently gripping its black feathered fetching. He nocked the arrow to the bow string then drew back to give the string tension. When at full draw, his thumb and index finger touched lightly against the back of his jaw bone directly below the ear. Both his aim and solemn gaze were set to one side of the base of the tall maple tree, ready to fire at anything behind it. A branch in the tree began to shake and he adjusted his aim upward upon realizing that the creature wasn't behind the tree, but rather, in a low crouch on a high branch.

It was then that he noticed the forest Bobcat prone to pounce on a bird who sat perched within a small nest.

The bird, with large, shimmering blue feathers, a silver beak, and stripes of chestnut along its wing tips made it clear that it was a Blue Grosbeak. The Grosbeak seemed unaware of the predator behind it as Nayato drew further back on the short bows string. As a devoted worshiper of Eywaat, the god of birds, he had an inherent soft spot in his heart for all avian creatures. And he never hunted them unless he was truly starving.

He kept his back straight, held his bow steady, sighted, exhaled, and focused. He aimed four inches ahead of the bobcat, waiting for it to make its move. When the cat lept, his arrow soared through the air with lethal intent. He kept his bow up as he reached back to remove another arrow from his quiver, nocking the second arrow even before the first could hit its mark.

By the time Nayato had drawn his bowstring back for the second arrow, the first arrow had punctured through the bobcats neck. Knocking it from the tree as Its body fell to the floor with a heavy thud. Osawa quickly ran towards the fallen creature as soon as it hit the ground to sniff at it. “Fly high bird, fly high, into a drifting cloud." He spoke the words this time rather than sing them. his eyes following the blue bird when it flew away in attempt to escape from a now absent threat.

Nayato walked over to the fallen three and a half foot long feline. After placing his second arrow back into his quiver he retrieved the first from the cats neck. Twisting and pulling it. The blood on the tip of the arrow was wiped away on his pant leg then set back into the quiver. He remove his backpack from where it rested atop his quiver and, after a moment of fiddling around, he retrieved a burlap sack. "It is not rabbit, but is should make for a nice meal." Said as he stored the creature into the sack then placed it into his backpack along with several blue feathers from the bird he found on the ground.

[Billie]

Billie stepped quietly after him, listening mutely and watching him carefully. As she watched him, it seemed like his colorless eyes saw a whole other world than hers did. Forever were they darting about, seeing everything that moved. The Chaktawe man engaged every one of his senses when tracking and hunting, it was incredible to watch. Everything made her wish she had learnt to do this. It would save her so much money when traveling from place to place through the wilderness. He seemed to move as erratically as his eyes did, changing direction frequently at the slightest indication of some new evidence suggesting an animal he could kill.

Slowly, the squire began the telling of an old tale. Probably one that had been told many times before. For it sounded to the young woman like the beginnings of a legend. Although he didn’t look at her, his words conveyed enough emotion to make her feel a peculiar sense of melancholy. Even in those first two sentences carried with them such vivid visionary that Billie was able to imagine herself starving and suffering the barren deserts of Eyktol. She waited for him to continue with eagerness, but he’d stopped suddenly. It took her a little longer to figure out why he had suddenly stopped speaking to draw his shortbow. She felt like a child as she squinted in the direction he was looking.

There was nothing there. Confusion furrowed Billies brow and she looked back at the hunter. She realized that he was now looking up into the branches of the tree where a small bobcat was doing some hunting of it’s own. The feline was perched to pounce on a small blue bird which she couldn’t name. The bird was totally unaware of the approaching threat, blissfully so as it chirped away. She watched the squire aim his arrow towards the predator. She took note of the way he stood, back straight, hands firm and steady as they pulled back on the arrow creating a steadily building amount of pressure. He took a deep breath in and out, and then let the arrow fly.

It hit it’s mark sure enough, but the hunter didn’t waste time to check. Instead he notched a second arrow. The feline was already finished. It fell to the ground with a dull thud, Nayato’s arrow protruding from it’s bloodstained furry neck. Billie had watched all this with an awe-inspired expression. Again, as the blue bird fluttered into the sky in a state of panic, unaware that it’s life had just been spared. Nayato put away the unused arrow and did the same with the other once he had retrieved it from the bobcat’s neck and cleaned it of blood.

“That was incredible. I don’t think I could hit a barn door. How do you keep your hands so steady?” She asked, coming out of her stunned silence. How was it possible she hadn’t learned how to fire a bow yet. She supposed there wasn’t much need for it in the cities where she preferred to be. Billie looked on as he packed the kill into his bag. “That was quite the educational experience. Thank-you for letting me come along, it was a pleasure to watch you hunt.” She said sincerely, giving him a genuine smile. “Though I’d still love to hear the end of that story.”

[Nayato]

GRADE

NAYATO

Skills:

Singing: 2
Rhetoric: 2
Animal Husbandry: 2
Observation: 4
Tracking: 2
Hunting: 2
Storytelling: 1
Weapon (Shortbow): 1

Lore:

• Tracking: Using Chaktawe finger sensors to track motion.
• Singing: Song of a Hopeful Mirage
• Tracking: Rabbit Track
• Person: Billie
• Hunting: Rabbits are nervous creatures of habit
• Hunting: Finding rabbits.
• Tracking: Rabbits teeth marks
• Storytelling: Why The Golden Wolf Howls
• Weapon (Shortbow): Focusing to taking aim.

Items:

• Bobcat hide
  
• 3x Blue Grosbeak feathers

BILLIE

Grade Withheld
Grade withheld: Reason as noted here.
If you ever return, pm me after fixing your CS and I’ll add your grade.