Completed [Job Post] Down in the Dumps

[Asher Claveson]

Summer - 56 - 515 AV

The day before had been wet and muggy, thanks to a rain shower that passed over the land briefly. Though it deterred people from doing much activity outside, Asher was aware that it would mean the animals would be more active. The rain made everything clean in a way, despite how it left a thickness to the air, and that seemed to draw deer and other game towards the heavily trafficked clearings. That was why Asher was standing there, his short bow stretched taut as he stared down an unsuspecting stag. It munched away on its grass and clovers, while Asher took deep breaths to calm himself and control his twitching.

It was taking him longer than he would have liked to admit, because just when he thought he was ready to loose the arrow, he focused on the stag's face and the smug superiority it was somehow emanating made the muscle in his forearm twitch. He couldn't decide what was more annoying, the deer's face or his assuming it looked so smug. Maybe he should have skipped the coffee, he wondered idly as he took one more deep breath and focused on where he was aiming. His view was perfect, an unobstructed look at the stag's chest. It would be tough to pierce through the sternum and hit the organs it protected, but Asher had enough confidence within him to believe he could put enough force behind the arrow. The fact that he was less than 20 yards away helped him all the more.

One more breath, and Asher loosed the arrow. He watched intently for the shot to reach its target, and time felt like it slowed in that moment. But he must have alerted the stag somehow, because it twitched and turned, meaning the shot sunk just below its shoulder blade. The animal cried out and shot away, leaving Asher to sigh as he trailed behind it. This was the really tough part, the blood-trailing. Usually, he was with a hunting partner who knew more about it and would take over once the game was shot. It never really afforded him the opportunity to learn himself, which he knew was his own fault rather than the fault of those he hunted with. It was even more difficult because of the dark, fertile earth. Spots of blood could easily be mistaken for water, or the other way around. The odds were definitely against him, but Asher wasn't going to give up on it. He had a job to do, after all.

His luck seemed to be turning around when he noticed the blood painting some leaves in the direction the stag ran. It was a relief, because it meant he wouldn't completely lose his kill, so long as he kept his attention on the leaves. And so, stowing his short bow away, Asher devoted all his attention to the trail he was slowly finding on the bushes and trees. It took what felt like forever, though it probably only took a half hour or somewhere around that to catch sight of his arrow. Or what was left of it. As he took in the broken wood and the blood on the tree closest to it, Asher assumed it stumbled into the tree hard enough to leave a piece of the arrow behind. That meant the deer was lagging, he just knew it. The blood loss was taking a toll on the stag, and Asher could catch up to put it out of its misery.

Sure enough, another half hour brought Asher face to face with the exhausted animal, who collapsed and was panting from the exertion. He couldn't help but smile at what he realized was probably his first kill all on his own. And even better, he was able to follow its tracks! Asher was so excited and felt so proud that, as he jogged over to the deer, he didn't realize he'd fallen into a pit trap until he was face down in the dirt, on top of two people caught in a compromising position.

[Asher Claveson]

Asher groaned from the impact, his knee and elbow throbbing from coming into contact with a body. He couldn't tell if it was the man or... or the other man. He rolled off the two, his hands hovering over his torso like he couldn't decide which joint he needed to coddle more. He looked himself over to make sure he had nothing more than bruises and such, before glancing back up at the couple. Only they were scrambling about for their clothing, because...

"You're naked?" Asher asked dazedly, and the blond man was definitely blushing and trying to have some sense of propriety, while man with the peculiar facial hair seemed to be putting on his clothes as a petulant child would. Which is to say, slowly as possible with much non-verbal coaxing from his partner, glaring at Asher as if this whole pit trap was his fault. "Why are you guys naked? In a pit trap?"

"Well," the man with the facial hair said, mock serious, "when two people love each other very much, and wish to express that love-"

"They need to go out into the middle of a dangerous forest filled with monsters and fall into a pit trap?"

The man smiled unrepentantly, while his partner, covered his face with his hands, saying, "I'm really sorry you had to see this, sir. We... we were just taking a stroll through the forest..."

"A boring stroll," the other man interjected like his point was crucial.

"And I should have seen the trap before we stepped into it," the blond man continued as if no one else had spoken, "but... well, I was," his blush somehow became more pronounced as he finished, "distracted."

Asher blinked, trying to absorb the story as the second man sniggered and started to describe what they were doing to be so distracted, completely ignoring his partner's shushing. Asher sighed, opting to take a look at the pit they were stuck in instead. It seemed like some decent enough work. Deep enough that even he wouldn't be able to get out, which he guessed was also helpful for animals who could jump very high. The three of them were sitting on some sort of leafy mat, put together haphazardly. But Asher supposed that helped it blend in with the forest floor. It wasn't too bad of an idea. He knew traps were useful to many hunters who didn't feel so confident in their skills with a hunting weapon, and quite a few who were but wanted the traps there anyway.

"So what's your excuse?" the second man snapped Asher out of his musings, his arms folded over his bear chest. He at least had his trousers back on, so Asher couldn't complain too much.

"I was focusing on my kill," Asher replied, which seemed to put more of the attention on him than before. The second man had narrowed his eyes, while the blond man perked up, probably at the opportunity to talk about something not inappropriate.

"Oh," he said, smiling slightly. "What were you hunting?"

At that moment, a weak braying came from above them, and they all looked up to see the dying stag peering over the hole. Despite being on the brink of death, Asher had the distinct impression that it was staring at him smugly, as if it had prevailed despite its injury.

After a few seconds of silence, the second man piped up, "I can appreciate the irony here."

"Stupid, smug, land-licker," Asher grumbled as he rose to his feet. "You think you're so special just because you jumped over the hole. Or whatever stupid trick you pulled to avoid joining us. Let me tell you, as soon as I get out of this stinking pit, I'm going to finish you off and then I'm going to ask the butcher for the pleasure of gutting you."

"That's a lot of trilling from one man," the second man said as he, too, rose from where he sat. He reluctantly took the shirt his partner handed him before asking, "You from Lhavit? Or Wind Reach?"

"No, my wife was from Lhavit. I had to learn or get left behind in her rants." He lifted up a hand, testing to see how far he could reach with his height alone. He sighed. He could make it a half a foot below the edge, but not much further. "Okay, so. Looks like we should introduce ourselves before we get down to business."

"Sorry, I'm a monogomy type of guy."

"You know what I mean. I'm Asher."

"I'm Johnathan," the blond man said, standing once his boots were on, "and this is Robert. You're thinking maybe a boost?"

"Yeah, either you give me one, and I help you guys out, or the other way around."

Johnathan nodded. "I could go first, you're looking a bit swollen around your elbow. It wouldn't do to make it worse."

"But if we stick to that same logic," Robert countered, "then it would probably be better for me to go first, him second, and then I can help him pull you up last. I'm not that short, you know." The man must have stood at around five foot eight inches, nine if he bothered to stand ramrod straight. Johnathan hummed in thought for a few seconds, looked to Asher to see if he would protest. Asher shrugged. Whatever was going to get them out alive was fine with him. The blond man nodded decisively and moved over to the wall of the pit.

"Alright, Rob," Johnathan said, "you first."

"Sure thing, honey." They were in sync with the boosting, from the moment Robert took a step into his partner's hands, to the heave Johnathan gave to push his lover up. In no time, Robert was standing over them, looking over the stag briefly. "Quite a beauty you got yourself, Asher. Definitely gonna have some high quality meat to sell at the butcher's."

"That's nice, dear," Johnathan said as he prepared to boost Asher. "Let's focus on escaping this together, instead? The stag's not going anywhere."

Asher's ascent was shakier. Admittedly, he probably weighed nowhere near as much as Robert, and in order to avoid putting strain on his elbow, he had to put strain on his knee. At least Robert was there to help him - and wow, did he have some hidden strength to him - and within minutes, he was finally laying on the ground, level with the world once more. He rolled over after he caught his breath, preparing to help Johnathan up.

Robert hummed behind him before joining him. "You know," he said as he settled on his front, "I may be a monogomy type of person, but I have to admit your rear is stunning."

What could he even say to that? "Thanks?" Asher tried before returning his focus to the blond man. He reached down, gripping one of Johnathan's hands, while Robert gripped the other and after a countdown, hoisted him up the side. Johnathan took to it with ease, having great control over his strength to actually walk up the wall enough so he could pull himself out the rest of the way.

[Asher Claveson]

"Well then," Robert said, clapping his hands together. "We can head our separate ways then."

"I don't know," Johnathan muttered, looking down at the pit trap. "Seems really dangerous to leave this empty. Anyone could fall in, get hurt."

Asher nodded, glancing around at the surrounding forest. "There must be a pile of dirt not far from here. It's a deep hole, and the Knights require you to fill these traps back up once you've finished hunting."

"Oh, certainly," Robert nodded, though his tone sounded mocking. "Not very proper otherwise."

Johnathan groaned, drooping his head in exasperation. "Will you let it go, Rob?"

"Why should I? It's the reason we're out here in the first place. Not everyone is ready for marriage, you know, but I shouldn't have to wait for a honeymoon to consummate my love." Asher scrunched up his nose at the last phrase, while Johnathan blushed and tried to shush his lover once again, but Robert just kept ranting, "I mean, we could have gone to my place, but no. You had to be a proper Knight, uphold these ridiculous morals, and not 'encroach on my space'." Robert used his fingers to make air quotes around the last bit, and then turned to Asher. "Can you believe that? He actually said that to me. It's ridiculous, I told him that I'm incredibly attracted to him and wanted sex. That's as proper as you get when you're trying to say you want them to encroach on your space."

"Please don't drag me into your little spat," Asher replied as he turned and looked through the brush for the missing dirt. "It makes me uncomfortable."

"What, you have something against two guys getting intimate?"

"No, you're beginning to sound like my wife." He was glad that he was turned away from the couple, because he didn't think he could hide the amount of blushing he felt happening. "She chose to spend our honeymoon ranting about just that. I don't want to feel like I'm on my honeymoon again, it was weird."

"Oh. Huh."

Asher was given a moment's peace to find the pile of earth, which was spread out a bit so it wasn't too obvious, and began shoving it bit by bit towards the hole. He was grateful to turn and see Johnathan dutifully pushing the dirt back into the hole. Robert was, surprisingly enough, helping along as well though his attention was more on Asher than what he was doing. Asher was still not used to being the focus of someone's attention, so he couldn't help but twitch and turn back to push the rest of the earth towards the hole.

Eventually, what was probably fifteen or so minutes later, the hole was more or less filled back in. They couldn't pack it down to make it blend back in, but as far as tool-less jobs went, it was pretty good. The stag wasn't so smug anymore, either, on account of it being dead. As much as he would have liked to continue hunting, Asher could tell that the sun was setting and that he probably couldn't find another deer and kill it in time to get out of the woods before dark.

Johnathan apparently had the same idea, because he picked up the deer and heaved it over his shoulder. "Should probably take it easy on your elbow," he said in the way of explanation. "And this is the least I can do to thank you for helping us out of there."

"You know he sort of had to," Robert said halfheartedly. "He was stuck in there with us."

"With you talking about our dalliances?" Johnathan raised a brow, giving his partner a pointed look. "We'd owe him even more for that. Are you saying you'd be willing to carry the deer then, Rob? Perhaps you want to gut it instead?"

"Ew, no, fine." The man sighed, gave a bow to Asher that was surprisingly lacking sarcasm. "Thank you for helping us. Apparently this is the least we can do."

Asher chuckled, shaking his head, "It's nothing. Just glad we found it and not some other poor sod."

Johnathan nodded, smiling at Asher, before he turned and started down the path towards the main road. It was surprising that they went an hour and a half without much said between them. Occasionally, Robert would make a comment on the surrounding, posing questions Asher never thought to ask about the wilderness around them. Other times, Robert would say something at random that had no connection to what was asked. His partner didn't seem to pay much mind to it, but would smile fondly and nod, as if he understood perfectly what Robert was saying. Asher didn't know how long these two had been together, so he couldn't assume either way.

One thing was for certain. Robert and Meyarra would have definitely gotten along. They would no doubt butt heads from time to time, but they'd mostly be ranting together. It was still difficult to think about his wife, about the mark she left that was now a painful scar, but perhaps it didn't hurt as much as it did a year ago. These moments didn't help, where he tried to guess at how Mey would act in certain situations.

They were only together for a couple years, married for less than one, so Asher couldn't say that he knew her for sure. It left him unsteady, realizing that his whole life was centered around a woman who, despite loving her fiercely, was still foreign to him. She had yet to open up about her travels from Lhavit, what brought her and her parents here to Syliras, what happened to the rest of her family. So how could he know for sure? The fact that it was easier to pretend that he understood her despite their short time together, it simultaneously left him feeling lonely and determined to find someone, anyone who would be willing to teach him to read Nari.

Asher shook his head, focusing back on their trek through the forest, doing his best to ignore how uneasy he felt to have Robert's piercing gaze on him once more. They were close to exiting the forest, he could tell, so he didn't have to linger with these two any longer than that. He could thank them for the help, take the stag carcass, and make his way to the nearest butcher's shop.

But just as they set foot on the main road, Robert said, "Listen, Asher. I know what it's like to lose someone very close. We both do." Johnathan didn't seem to know where this was going, but his gaze became distant with a memory, which confirmed Robert's words. "It's painful, really painful. The only reason I'm not stuck in a bottle or buried in my workshop is actually all thanks to this guy. Having someone to simply be there," his lips twisted to the side before finishing, "it helps."

"Though it's tougher to ask for the help," Johnathan continued, almost absently. "Easiest way to get the help without asking is to just reach back when others are reaching out." He glanced up from the ground, capturing and keeping Asher's gaze. "Every little bit helps."

Asher had to swallow around the lump that grew in his throat as these two spoke. How could they possibly know what he was going through? He knew he wasn't telegraphing his feelings as much as he thought, because he'd often pass through a street, through some pleasantries, and never have the sadness that surrounded him mentioned. Well, when he remembered some friends of his, he supposed it wasn't totally true. And now that he thought about it, he never felt as trapped by his memories when he was with those friends. They had a talent for drawing him out of his own hole. Reaching out, like Johnathan said.

Robert nodded, seeming to take Asher's silence as acceptance of their message, and clapped his hands together. "Well, I think we can pass this stag back to you. Captain Knighthood here has to walk me home, make sure I'm not jumped for my brain."

"It's not even sunset yet, Robert," Johnathan sighed.

"Yeah, but mine is a gorgeous brain. Never know when the greedy idiots might strike."

Asher thought the man was joking, but the dark look on Johnathan's face told him that it had happened before. If anyone had even thought of harming Meyarra, he would have gone after them, no matter how much experience he lacked in actual combat. So he took the stag from the blond man's arms without judgment. "I'll be fine," he said, giving them a reassuring smile. "No one tries to attack us tall folk."

Johnathan laughed as Robert sputtered indignantly at the insinuation, but Asher gave them a nod of farewell before any more could be said. Besides Robert's cry of, "I'm perfectly normal-sized for my kind, I'll have you know!"

It was only fifteen minutes before Asher made his way to the closest butcher's shop. He could admit that it was strange to take smug satisfaction in selling the dead stag away. But it didn't stop him from insisting, "I'm the one who came out on top, land-licker. Not so smug now, are you?"

[Dravite]

Asher Claveson

XP Award:

• Meditation: 1
• Observation: 2
• Hunting: 1
• Tracking: 1
• Weapon, Shortbow: 1
• Rhetoric: 1
• Socialisation: 2
• Bodybuilding: 2
• Wilderness Survival, Forest: 1
• Diplomacy: 1
• Endurance: 1

Lore:

• Hunting: Animals are more active in the rain
• Tracking in the rain is difficult
• Tracking: Following a blood trail
• Syliras: Pit-traps in the woods
• Camouflage: Using the environment to conceal well placed traps
• Wilderness Survival: Escaping a pit-trap
• Asher: Did not enjoy his honeymoon
• Johnathan and Robert: Lovers
• Robert: A piercing gaze

Penalties:
Asher will feel bruised and sore for four or five days.

Loot:
Stag sold as part of job thread.

Notes: Hello, Asher, I think you're a wonderful writer and this story was quite entertaining. As you have zero tracking skill I must inform you that this was highly overplayed in this thread; yes blood is probably easier to follow than the footprints of a fleeing stag (maybe not with such low observation skills?), but you did mention that it was raining and took half an hour to track the stag (leading me to assume the rain would have made this very difficult); just be careful in future. Looking forward to seeing a lot more from you! Enjoy the rewards.

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