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[Dravite]

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82 Summer, 515 AV
8th Bell, Morning

"They aren't really my thing," Dravite shrugged as the salesman handed him his latest purchase, a short, composite bow made of bone and wood.
"It's perfect for firing from horseback just as we discussed, though if you haven't used one before I'd suggest starting on your own two feet."
Dravite laughed, "Oh don't worry I'll be getting plenty of practice in today."
"The rabbits?"
Dravite nodded, "pests."
"Never seen it get this bad, any idea what might be causing the sudden influx?" The trader asked.
"The Watch has a few ideas, namely the lack of predators we've noticed this season and last in particularly."
"That makes more sense than my theory."
"And what was that?" Dravite inquired.
"Endrykas farms Zibri quite heavily these days and when I was speaking to my brother a few days ago he told me the sale of rabbit meat has been way down in the last few seasons; people want beef."
"Hmm," Dravite hummed, counting his money in the palm of his hand before handing over the right amount," I guess that doesn't help."
"Good luck with the hunting."

Dravite waved and carried his new bow and quiver full of arrows down the makeshift street that had been worn into the grass as the season went on. He counted his change before stowing it safely and made his way to The Watch tent where members were allowed to come and go, free to use the training facilities and the ranged targets set up for the use of bows.

When he arrived at his destination, Dravite set down his quiver and took one of the arrows from its keep. He was a complete and utter novice, the short, composite bow presenting him with a real challenge. Up until now Dravite had favoured his melee weapons, but after hunting with Lian and venturing out into the golden sea for his line of work, Dravite had come to recognise the value in keeping the bow as a secondary weapon that had some advantages over his spear and Bec de Corbin.

He fixed the end of his arrow to the string; he had seen others do this a thousand times; how hard could it be? Dravite pulled the string back and watched the point of his arrow float out to the right. He tried again, this time positioning the bow differently so that the arrow might stay in place. This time he had more luck but the hold did not feel comfortable. The horse lord adjusted his stance, shifting his feet apart then trying one foot behind the other; maybe this was harder than it looked...

Frustrated, the man tried a quick draw and released the arrow before it could rock to one side. The string twanged and caught the edge of his arm, and only Zulrav knew where the arrow must have gone. Dravite dropped the bow and blew on his grazed skin, trying to ignore the burning pain that set in quickly. He took some honey from his backpack and rubbed that over the marred skin to stop his blood from pooling in the rivets of his light scratches before lifting his weapon again; suddenly a lot more determined than he had been a few chimes ago. "I will get this right," he hissed and hooked to his bow, a second arrow.

Dravite lined up his target and bent his arm a little so that the string would not catch it again. Slowly he went through the motions of setting up his shot and when he was confident that he had done all he needed to, he released the string and watched the arrow fly only to land nowhere near the target. "I knew this was a bad idea," he sighed before moving to fetch his arrow.
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[Dravite]

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Dravite stared down the arrow at his target. He knew he was doing something wrong but he just couldn't work out what it was. As he released the arrow, the end clipped the bow and the arrow bounced back at him, slapping him across the arm. The man shut his eyes and brought his arms up to protect himself and when it was safe he slowly opened his eyes again to find that Sparrow, his cousin and fellow Watch member was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe, in fact she made no sound at all except for a sudden and surprising gasp.
"Oh not you!" He hissed, "Anyone but you!"
Sparrow doubled over and was just about to roll around in the long grass when she caught sight of a very unamused Dravite. "I'm sorry! I've just... You just; I've never seen you look so pathetic in my whole life."
"Rub it in why don't you?"

Sparrow snorted, still trying to control her laughter.
"That was very ladylike."
"Do you need some help?"
"What do you think?"
"I think you need a miracle; you're terrible!" The girl laughed again.
"Sparrow!"
"Sorry, here, show me what you can do."
It was Dravite’s turn to laugh, "Well so far I can successfully lose arrows, graze my arm, and just about poke an eye out; still working on that last one."
"Come on; show us what you've got."

Dravite took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he lifted his bow and arrow. He fixed the arrow to the string and lined up his shot.
"Well there's your first mistake," Sparrow chimed, "the right point of the tip needs to touch the bone; you’re holding the arrow on the wrong side."
"Oh," Dravite stared at the bow a moment before trying again, "like this?"
"Perfect, now feet apart."

Dravite put some space between his riding boots and looked across at his cousin.
"Not bad, you want about a shoulder's width but you'll learn what feels most comfortable for you soon enough."
Dravite drew back the string between finger and thumb, "then?"
"Your hand is all wrong," Sparrow walked over and corrected the man's hold, "like that."
"This is too much to remember."
"Move closer to the target and give it a try."

The horse lord stepped forwards so that he stood about twelve feet from the target. He drew back the string and turned his arm so that he wouldn't strike it again before releasing the arrow. It flew past the left side of the target and landed in the grass. "This is hopeless!"
"Let's try that again," Sparrow encouraged, "and this time, make sure you hold the front of the bow steady while you pull the string back."
"I thought I was?"
"Beginner mistake, you were pushing the front of the bow forward and that's probably why you caught your arm in the first place," she explained.
"All right."
"Think of your left arm as an anchor, your right does all the work."
"Got it," Dravite nodded.

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[Dravite]

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Dravite fired another arrow and had much the same result. "I don't get it," he complained, "I'm doing everything you've told me too. I think I could stand and inch from the target and still manage to miss it."
Sparrow grinned, "You’re holding the bow too straight."
"Too straight?"
"Watch," Sparrow demonstrated, holding her short-bow on a slight angle, "it's called an instinctive shot, where you don't use any kind of sights system or markers on your bow."
"So basically I'm guessing?"
"A little."

He watched the way Sparrow tipped her bow slightly, the ark in the string where the end of the arrow was fixed looked as if it were almost touched to her cheek, and her posture seemed strong but relaxed. When she let go of the string, it took less than a tick for her arrow to find the mark and she hit the target almost dead-centre.
"And that's how it's done," Dravite laughed.
"Now you try," Sparrow beamed.

The horse lord stepped up to the target, set his feet apart and raised his weapon. He struggled with the arrow momentarily before finally getting it right and tipped his bow slightly, just as his cousin had done. Suddenly mindful of his breathing after going through the mental list of things to remember, Dravite looked down the length of his arrow at the target. He pulled the string back a little more and corrected his arm so that he would not repeat the mistake he had made earlier. When he was confident that he had made all the adjustments Sparrow had recommended, he waited for an exhale before releasing the tethered arrow.

It gave a slight whistle as it flew through the air and brushed the edge of the target, bouncing aside to land where most of the others had, if not a little closer.
"That was really good!" Sparrow praised, but the horse lord was unconvinced.
"I have a friend to meet; I'll have to badger you for some more lessons another day."
"Time is miza," the girl teased.
"And you're welcome to take some of mine next time we meet."
"Sounds like a plan, I'll make sure to clear my schedule for you tomorrow."
"Too kind," Dravite laughed before fetching his things quickly to make up for lost time.

Cree was waiting exactly where the man had left him just beyond his campsite. When he climbed onto the Strider's back he whistled and squeezed the stallion's belly with his legs to wake him up. "Come on, we have to get to the gates quickly, I've arranged to meet Lian there; you remember, the one with pretty little mare."
Cree scratched the ground with his front, left hoof and made a deep rumbling sound.
"Good, let's get going then!" Dravite kicked and the two of them were off, headed for the Wind-Knotted Gates of Endrykas.

While he rode the man trapped his hand under the yvas and quickly slipped into the web, sure that Lian would be wondering where he was. In the web he was free to move quickly, even faster than his mount could carry him and fled to the gates where he felt Lian's presence. "I'm on my way!" Dravite promised, reaching out to his friend across the web, which made for swift, efficient communication; for those who know how to use it, "I'll see you soon."

LedgerShortbow, Composite -75 GM
Shortbow Arrows (60) -3 GM
Quiver -20 GM

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[Lian Windrunner]

Timestamp: 82nd Day of Summer, 515 AV
8th Bell, Morning

News travels quickly, and bad news travels even faster. And today, people were talking about two striders who had broken their legs, and had had to be put down as a result of it. Lian hated to think of what a broken leg meant for a horse or a strider. It was an instant death sentence for the animal in question, and the loss of a treasured friend who the human who owned them. Lian felt bad for the people who had lost their striders. He couldn't even imagine what he would do if he ever lost Talise.

And what had caused the death of the two striders? Rabbits, of all things. Or more specifically, their warrens. The rabbits seemed to be taking over this part of the Sea of Grass. They were everywhere, weakening the ground with their warrens, making it treacherous for man and animal alike. Worse, they would be leaving soon. In a little over a week, it would be time for the city to move once more. How many striders and horses would they lose to broken legs when it came time to move on? How many wagons would get stuck when the ground collapsed under them, causing bells to be wasted as wagons were freed, and repaired? How many people would be injured? Sprained or broken ankles were the least of their worries. How man would be injured trying to free their wagons?

That was why Lian was standing at the gates of the city, waiting for his friend. He and Dravite had decided to do something about it. Hunters had been called upon to do something about this menace. Lian was a hunter, and he was determined to do his part. As a member of the Watch, Dravite probably felt as determined as he did about the matter.

Lian felt a soft tingling sensation in his mind. He knew that feeling. It meant that someone was trying to get his attention via the Web. Knowing that it had to be Dravite, Lian slipped into the Web. A message from Dravite echoed through the Web, alerting Lian to the fact that his friend was on his way, and would be there soon. Lian touched the nearest glowing blue strand with his "fingers," and offered his response. It would race along one strand until it reached another. And another. And another. Nothing would stop his message until it reached the man his words were meant for.

"I'll be waiting."

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[Dravite]

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Cree skipped into a faster stride as his rider gave a short, sharp nudge with his foot. The stallion was used to the little kicks and what they meant, faster, slower, stop, go; this time the horse lord had commanded him to speed up now that they were faced with a long straight and relatively clear streets. Cree had never run into a person before, but Dravite was working him particularly hard this morning, drawing his heels back on either side to race around any road blocks. When they finally arrived at the gates, Lian was there as promised. Dravite got Cree to stop just beyond the gate before dismounting. He signed for the Strider to return home, which Cree did begrudgingly, having hoped for a good leg stretch today.

Dravite approached Lian on foot, "come on, we're walking today," he smiled, his new bow strapped to his back, the leather belt he wore decorated with an array of weapons including his hunting knife, dagger, and hatchet. In one hand he held his father's bone spear, a weapon he never failed to leave behind unlike the Bec de Corbin he was still learning, "I know you wouldn't risk those pretty legs," he smiled, gesturing to Lian's mount.

They had gathered at the southern end of the city where the people of Endrykas would soon start making their way along the border and down near the coast to the fall grounds. Dravite had decided they were better off working from this end in an attempt to clear out the rabbits they would have to contend with. The man couldn't recall hunting any rabbit at all this season, so it would be a nice change come meal time and they could flog any extras off for a bit of spare coin. Dressed in his riding boots, a black pair of leather pants and a loose shirt, Dravite felt well prepared for a long day of hunting.
"Tell you what," Dravite said, "I hope we get a bit more rain in the next few days to water the animals before we leave; it would be a shame to have to trek all the way back to the Uvic Lake just to turn back and start the journey from there."

The man decided then and there that he would dedicate some of his take for the day to the gods in order to ask them for rain. When Lian was ready to go they set off and headed in the direction Lian chose, knowing any way would soon see them stumble upon the troublesome rabbit warrens. Some hunters had said the problem was almost so bad they had been able to reach down into the odd den and bring up and handful of young kits; Dravite couldn't recall it ever being that bad but if there was some truth to any of it, he expected there wouldn't be enough room on his belt to cart back all the rabbits they would take.

He knelt down quickly and drew a shape in the sand with a stray twig, marking the points with north, east, south, and west; taking into account which side the sun had risen on. Once he had his bearings he set a landmark and jogged alongside Lian. It wasn't long before he spotted something up ahead in the tall grass and Dravite slowed to draw his bow, "what do you think?" He smiled, "you inspired me after the bear to branch out and try something new."

Carefully, the horse lord hooked an arrow to the string of his bow and drew it back, trying to cover all of the points Sparrow had helped bring to his attention, but he had already forgotten half of it with the excitement of putting the bow to the test in the field for the first time. After taking aim he tipped his bow on a slight angle and released the string to watch the arrow whizz through the air and disappear out of sight. Though a little embarrassed that he had missed his mark by a mile, Dravite was just happy to see his arrows going forwards rather than backwards.

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[Lian Windrunner]

Dravite left it to him to choose a direction, so Lian picked the direction the city would be traveling when they migrated to their fall grounds. It seemed best to him to clear out as many rabbits as they could in that direction to minimize the amount of damage done to horse and man alike as they passed through the area. When Lian noticed his friend making a landmark, he paused to watch how he did it. First he drew a symbol that represented the directions, taking into account which direction the sun had risen in so they'd know where east was. Then he placed something pointing in the direction they were moving in. Lian wondered what real purpose the landmark had. He was so used to using the Web to find his way home that he rarely used anything else. Finally curiosity got the better of him, and he asked his friend what the landmark was used for, mentioning that he tended to use the Web to find his way home. Marking which direction they went in would tell them how to get home...if they could find the landmark again. Would it be tied into the Web to be certain they could find it when they needed it?

They hadn't been walking for long before Dravite pulled out a bow, and asked him what he thought of it. Lian grinned when the man continued, saying he had been inspired to try something new by Lian's luck in killing the grass bear.

"It's a good bow. Treat it right, and it will serve you well."

Lian watched Dravite take his shot. It missed badly, and the arrow vanished into the grass.

"Did you link your arrows into the Web?" he asked hopefully.

"If not, we're going to have a hard time finding it."

That Lian would be helping his friend look wasn't even a question. Of course he would help.

"I know something that might help. Here, take a look at my bow."

Lian offered his weapon to his friend.

"Do you see where the black mark is?" he asked after a couple of ticks.

"I was lucky enough to meet a man named Trail the day the Diamond Clan was holding public weapon lessons. He made that mark on my bow, and told me to tilt the bow until the mark was straight when I shoot. If you imagine there's a mark on your bow and do the same thing, it might help. I'd offer to mark the bow, but I don't have an ink stick with me."

Shortly after Dravite handed him his bow back, Lian saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He quickly readied an arrow, and turned to take aim. If this was just the wind blowing through the grass, he was going to feel very foolish. But it wasn't. A rabbit hooped out from the tall grass, and sat up on its hind legs, watching them. Lian released his arrow. It flew true, killing the rabbit. Lian grinned as he looked at Dravite.

"That's one for me. Care to make this a challenge?" he asked almost playfully.

"We could see which of us gets the most rabbits by the end of the hunt." he suggested..
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[Dravite]

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"It's not so much a landmark as it is a means of finding my why," Dravite smiled; it was important to him to be able to function just as well without the web as he never knew from day to day where his travels would take him, "it's a handy skill to have, land navigation without the help of the web. Imagine you were knocked over the head by a gang of misfits one day and drag into and area or region with no webbing?" Perhaps it was unlikely but Dravite was only trying to explain to his hunting partner, the importance of always having a backup plan.

Having taken his shot and watched his arrow fly out into the abyss of the golden sea, Dravite couldn't help but laugh, "I did not... That sounds like something I should work on," he smirked, mindful that they were hunting and using stealth was their best chance of stumbling upon more rabbits.

The horse lord was still while Lian took a shot and downed a rabbit with ease. At the mention of a bit if spirited competition, Dravite couldn't help feel that they were leagues apart, and in this particular running race, he was missing a leg. "I'm sure you will have yourself enough rabbits to make a Strider’s blanket before last light," he grinned as if to half-heartedly accept this challenge he knew he would lose.

The mark on Lian's bow seemed helpful and at the mention of Trail's name, Dravite lit up. The pride that had fled his form moments ago was renewed and the smile on his face told the story of a man who knew that name well, "Trail Riverstone?" The horse lord smiled, "two days after our bear hunt I married his daughter Pearl," if that didn't explain why he was smiling, nothing would, "he's a good man; currently training me in the art of mounted combat with that heavy weapon, the crow's beak, I had in the day we met. His father was a weapons expert; Trail ended up twisting my arm and I bought one, a bit like this bow, not sure how long it will last."

Dravite didn't often feel that his work and personal life crossed paths, but for the first time in a while, it felt like a small world. He crept forwards into the grass, doing his best not to disturb the sunburnt undergrowth that rustled and sighed underfoot. He went in search of his missing arrow, prying the grass back tentatively in case they stumbled upon another rabbit. Something shifted up ahead and low to the ground with its tail just in sight, Dravite spotted his chance at redeeming his poor excuse for a shot. Carefully he took another arrow from the quiver on his left hip and readied his bow. The taut string was slowly drawn back; he took aim, looked down the line of his arrow, tipped the bow slightly and then fired.

It would not be difficult to reclaim the arrow for it had landed a foot shy of the rabbit, who now made his hurried escape, the feathered end pointed skyward, plucked out of the earth like a porcupine quill from a hunting dog's muzzle. "Do misses count?" Dravite laughed, "Because that already puts me ahead by two!"

With his arrow in hand the man signalled in grassland sign for his friend to hunt in the area while he sat and made sure his arrows would not go missing quite so easily. Dravite closed his eyes and focused on the world around him, the shifting of Lian's feet, the breeze passing through the tall grass, and the sun on his back. His trance soon took him into the depths of the web where Dravite was free to roam afar in search of anything that might try to sneak up on him while he was meditating. After giving himself the all clear, he focused on pooling his djed to the centre of his chest, just as his grandfather Taloker had taught him, where he could draw out the energy into long, woven strands to clip and tie about the ends of his arrows.

Once each arrow was securely tied to the web, he opened his eyes and awoke to find that his fingers and toes felt strange, almost numb. When he got to his feet, he felt lightheaded and stood for a moment, contemplating whether or not he had eaten today. Using djed took a lot of energy from a person and it was easy to forget that while lost on the confines of the web. Dravite would take it easy and fall back on a weapon he knew he had better luck with, even when it came to rabbit hunting.

With his new bow slung securely over his upper body, the horse lord took his father's bone spear in hand and circled away from Lian, who seemed to be having a lot more luck with his take this morning. Wordlessly, Dravite pointed out his plan, his hands forming the words his mouth would not, move, quiet, drive prey, down wind, bow, he smirked before drawing his hand across his throat as if to say, 'don't you dare shoot me!'.

It wasn't long before Lian's movements drove a rabbit from the tall grass towards Dravite, who waited still as a stalk with his spear at the ready. When the animal came into view he struck with a speed that startled the creature and caused it to bounce sideways as if its feet were on fire. He had managed to clip the rabbit's side which left him with a light trail of blood to follow into the tall grass. For a moment he considered leaving the animal to its fate, but a slow, drawn out death was not fair on any of Caiyha's creatures, especially the humble rabbit. Dravite followed the blood into the grass and set down one of his snares above a warren it led into.
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[Lian Windrunner]

"I'm the first person to admit that I rely on the Web too much." Lian said quietly after Dravite explained that he was using the marker to navigate.

"When I was a kid, I was so determined that I was going to be a Webber. Hunting lessons, tracking lessons...nothing was as important to me as exploring the Web, and practicing my Webbing skills. I must have driven Lukar and my parents nuts with my sheer stubbornness on the matter. Even when Lily was born, and I was determined to be a good big brother to her...I was only going through the motions."

Lian chuckled ruefully.

"I was a stupid kid. And now, I'm paying for my stubbornness. My skills as a webber have improved to the point where I can use the Web as a substitute for the skills I should have been learning as a child. Tracking, looking out for danger, finding my way around...I have to use the Web most of the time for all of that. I've been trying to teach myself the more traditional ways, but I've seen children who know more than I do in those areas. Unless, of course, I fall back on the Web."

Lian hesitated.

"Would you be willing to teach me some of what you know about how to navigate without using the Web? Because who knows? Like you said, a band of misfits might come along one day, and drag me off to who knows where." he finished with a small chuckle.
When Dravite admitted that he had not tied his arrows into the Web, Lian simply grinned, and helped his friend look for the missing arrow. It came as a surprise to Lian that his new friend knew Trail, too. But he grinned and congratulated the other man when he told him about marrying Trail's daughter. Dravite had mentioned the wedding when they were working on the bear they had killed together, but Lian didn't remember him mentioning that he was marrying Trail's daughter. Only that he had not met the girl he was marrying, and that her father was a member of the Watch like he was. Dravite mentioned that Trail's father was a weapon's expert.

"It must have rubbed off on Trail, too. At the very least, I learned a great deal from a single lesson with the man. He's invited me to go hunting with him on the eleventh of fall, and I accepted. I'm looking forward to learning more from him."

Lian watched as Dravite found another rabbit. His arrow embedded itself into the ground roughly a foot away from the now fleeing creature. It was hard not to chuckle, but Lian resisted the urge. It wasn't that he was amused by his friend's failure. But he felt a sense of sympathy for the frustration Dravite was likely feeling. Not pity, but Lian knew how frustrating it could be to struggle with an unfamiliar skill you were trying to teach yourself. He was all too familiar with that painful feeling. He did chuckle at his friend's words, though.

"Perhaps we should, at that." he offered with a grin.

Lian heard a rustle in the grass. Well honed instinct had him fitting an arrow to his bow even as he turned to see what had made the noise. The moment he confirmed that it was a rabbit, he quickly adjusted his aim, and fired. The rabbit collapsed, and did not move. Lian waited a moment to make certain it was dead before he approached the animal. Then he retrieved his arrow, cleaned it off, and replaced it in his quiver. The rabbit went into a yvas bag he had tied around his waist with a piece or rope along with the other one he had killed.

Dravite signaled him to hunt in the area before closing his eyes. Lian knew he was entering the Web, likely to tie his arrows into the Web so he wouldn't lose them. Lian walked around as quietly as he could as he searched for rabbits. In the time Dravite was in the Web, Lian found nine rabbits. A group of three, two individuals, and two pairs. All were feeding, and they all seemed to show unusual confidence in the illusion of their safety. Once in a while, one would rise up on their hind legs, nose twitching as they sniffed the air for danger. But either their proximity to the city taught them not to fear the scent of humans as a threat, or they were just very stupid rabbits. Either way, Lian would benefit from their lack of fear. Of the nine rabbits he found, he managed to kill five; the two that had been feeding alone, and one from each group.

When Dravite returned to himself, he exchanged bow for spear. He also had a plan that he conveyed silently, using signs. Lian nodded, agreeing with the plan. But he smirked in amusement at the last sign. "Don't shoot Dravite" indeed. Lian had to resist the urge to laugh as he circled down wind as quietly as he could.

Rabbits seemed to be everywhere today, and it didn't take long for him to find another group. This was the largest one yet. Seven rabbits were spread out over a fairly small area. One sentry kept watch for the others. But again, Lian was dismissed as a threat. Lian carefully edged around the cluster of rabbits until he was in a position where the rabbits would be fleeing towards Dravite when they decided he was indeed a threat. When he was ready, he chose his target, one of the rabbits near the edge of the group nearest to where he was standing. He readied an arrow, and took his shot. The rabbit let our a sharp cry as it died. The others bolted towards Dravite. As they fled, Lian grabbed a second arrow, and fired at one of the retreating rabbits. The arrow flew true, and found its mark.

Lian collected his kills, and cleaned off his arrows. Then he headed back to see how his friend had done. He found Dravite crouched down, setting a snare above what looked like a warren.

"If you'd be willing, maybe you could teach me how to set up snares properly, too? I've tried my hand at trapping, but I'm horrible at it. In the rare event I do manage to actually catch something...an event I can count on one hand...something else always gets to it first. All I find are signs that the snare was set off, and blood letting me know that something got to my catch before I could.".
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[Dravite]

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"That just tells me you're leaving them set too long without checking them," Dravite surmised, but in all honesty, he was no trapping expert and a lot more likely to find his traps untouched than full of rabbits. The realisation caused him to crouch down again and reset the trap, this time paying close attention to the small tracks carved into the mouth of the warren by the foot traffic the rabbits had left.

When he rose, Dravite slowly edged around the dens on the surface, looking for other exits; it seemed strange to find so many, he thought, and Dravite slowly came up with a plan to throw the odds in his favour. For each hole he found, he would pull out a tuft of the old summer grass with the roots and dirt still attached before stuffing it down the tunnel all balled up so that the rabbits couldn't get by but would instead be forced to use a different exit. After that, he would crush the entrance under foot, stomping on the earth around it until it gave way and collapsed.

"You know, you should really consider joining The Watch," the horse lord spoke up, scaring off one of Lian's rabbits, which he didn't feel too guilty about as the man already looked to have more than he could carry, "you said last time we met that it was just you and your captive? Why not join us this fall; my wives can help with the twins and we could work together," Dravite suggested; he admired that Lian wasn't afraid to ask for help, and the fact that his friend had strengths where his own weaknesses lay.

"You could teach me how to use the short bow and I could recommend you to The Watch; they always need experts in webbing but without a recommendation it can be difficult to get in. I suppose if we lived in the same encampment, hunting trips would become a lot easier too and trapping I suspect will just come naturally after a while."

It wasn't long before the opportunity to use his spear came again in the form of a fleeing rabbit, which must have been upset to see his home caving in around him and too panicked to look for another exit. It danced around the man's feet quickly before it shot towards the tall grass, followed closely by the horse lord’s spear, which he threw all his weight behind, going to one knee under the force of his throw. There was a familiar high pitched cry that rang out ahead of him and when Dravite finally got to his feet and was able to pluck his spear from the tussocks, he discovered the dead rabbit impaled on the point of his weapon, "success!" He smiled back at Lian, holding up his first kill of the morning; it wouldn’t cure the city's rabbit infestation, but it was a start and every little bit helped.

Dravite then returned to his work on the large warren, setting down a second snare near an entrance that looked as if it too got a lot of foot traffic. His traps were always tangled and took too much time to set in the Watchman's opinion, but he would be happy to snag something on them if at all possible. "Early morning," Dravite piped up, "I think you're meant to set them late of an evening and then check them at first light; but who knows, we could get lucky?"

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[Lian Windrunner]

"How often should I be checking them?" Lian asked curiously.

"When I use them, I set them up at the beginning of a hunt, and check them as I come back. I also don't leave them out overnight."

Lian watched as Dravite checked his trap. When he began blocking other entrances into the warren, Lian began helping him without having to be asked. Even with his help, the work seemed endless. For every entrance he blocked, Lian found two more. He had never seen a rabbit warren this size before. Just how many rabbits lived here, anyway?

The suggestion that he join the Watch appealed to Lian greatly. As a member of the Watch, he would be able to use his Webbing skills...really use them as they should be used. Not just as a hunting and navigation aid. He would be serving his people in a vital way, as one of their protectors. Being a member of the Watch would also help his chances of finding a wife. Few women were interested in a man with no herds, and few belongings. One who had very little to offer. It was something he had considered off and on for years. But...how could he join the Watch without the approval of an ankal? Being his own ankal didn't exactly count.

But Dravite had a solution for that, as well. Joining the Blackwater Pavilion would would give him an ankal who could recommend him to join the Watch. One who was already a part of the Watch himself. Seirei would probably appreciate help with the twins. Lian knew that he would. There was every reason to join, and none not to that Lian could think of.

"I'd really like that. And I'd be happy to teach you how to use the short bow." Lian said with a smile.

"It would be nice to be a part of a pavilion again. To have a family again. And I've been interested in joining the Watch for quite some time now. But as ankal of a pavilion of one...three when you count the twins...well. I couldn't exactly recommend myself." he finished with a grin.

Dravite set up a second trap. and mentioned that he'd heard traps were supposed to be set in the evening, and checked at first light. This gave Lian pause.

"Maybe I should have been leaving my traps out overnight, then. It's no wonder my luck with them has been so poor. I've been trying to use them at the wrong time of day.".
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