Closed Introduction to a new life.

[Ruari Darkwind]

3 AU 515 AV

It was no secret that Ruari wished to learn to hunt, but the girl's will was often like sand when she wished to muster it and force herself out of the city, and the sand trickled easily from her hands when she was sure she had a good grip on it.

It wasn't as if she wasn't supported. There were people in her Pavilion, older and more wise, who thought it a bold idea to have the smallest of Cidhna's grown children learn to handle a bow or blade and take down an animal. She was already learning to care for them, why should she not learn to send them to death?

Yet, Ruari's will was as slippery as water. She wanted to learn, but it was only on this day that she actually took a step towards a new skill.

She refused to regret her situation when she arrived at the Hunter's Allegiance, horribly underdressed with a distinct lack of armor and weapon. She owned none. Nobody in her immediate family did, because nobody bothered much with hunting and fighting in the wilderness; they fought the brave battle on the inside with words, or taught birds to fly for a man, or stared at the stars longingly like they could find their future written up there.

"You wanted to learn hunting, right?"

Ruari started, surprised by the man to approach her. To her, he seemed older than most Drykas grew to be, which was definitely a respectable aspect on its own. Otherwise, she didn't recognise him, and had not even heard him coming.

He saw her surprise and laughed, but the laughter wasn't cruel as she may have anticipated. Once it'd cleared, and so had her shocked expression, he repeated his question to her.

"I do, yes," she said, with eagerness in her voice. She definitely wasn't here for anything else yet, not the birds nor the cats (and she'd eyed those longingly).

[Lian Windrunner]

3rd Day of Fall 515 AV
Hunter's Allegiance

"We'd better get going, Talise. If we don't, we'll be late."

Talise snorted. The sound conveyed her amusement quite plainly. If she were human, she would be laughing at him, and he knew it. Lian scowled. But after a few ticks, he relented, and chuckled ruefully.

It had been one of those days. Zethar had contacted him the day before to ask him if he'd be willing to take someone on a hunting trip, and give her a few lessons. Lian didn't think he was the best teacher, but he agreed readily enough. It would be an excuse to get him out of his lonely tent, and a welcome distraction from the constant pain of losing his children.

The plan was for him to leave early so he could get a few bells of practice in at the Hunter's Allegiance before he met up with the woman he was going to teach. And he would be able to get in some practice...just not as much as he had hoped. As he often did, Lian had begun his morning with a trip into the Web. He had wanted to hone his Webbing skills some more, and simply enjoy the sensation of being one with the world that soaring through the Web gave him. Besides, there was always something new to learn in the Web. Something more to explore. The world within the Web was always changing.

The problem had come when Lian had gotten so caught up in the Web that he had lost all sense of time. If Talise hadn't forced her way partially into his tent to demand attention, it was likely that he would still be in the Web now. As it was, he had a bit more than a bell before he had to meet up with Zethar and the woman he was supposed to teach. That didn't leave much time for practice.

Lian made his way to the Hunter's Allegiance on foot. Talise followed close behind him, making her displeasure at not being groomed first known quite plainly. Lian stroked her neck gently in way of apology. There simply hadn't been time for that. Talise shoved him with her nose in annoyance, then settled as he promised to make it up to her later.

Once they arrived at the Hunter's Allegiance, Lian quickly found someone who could point him in the way of one of the moving targets Trail had introduced him to last season. There were a few people using other targets in the area, but it wasn't as crowded as he'd feared it might be. Lian walked over to the target, and set it to swinging back and forth between the poles it was attached to. Then he positioned himself a decent distance from the target. He took his bow off his shoulder, and readied an arrow. Then he watched the target's movement for a few ticks, getting used to its motion. When he was ready, he released his arrow.

It flew true...and embedded itself in the post to the right of the target. Lian frowned, and tried again. This time he had better luck. His arrow glanced the target itself, bouncing off of the rim as it moved away. Lian's frown deepened as he readied another arrow. He was going to get this if it killed him! The next five arrows missed the target completely as anger and frustration got the better of him.

Lian forced himself to close his eyes, and take several deep breaths. At the top of each breath, he counted to fifteen before exhaling. Doing so allowed him to settle his emotions. He wasn't angry at his failure to hit the target. Not really, at least. Deep in his heart, he was imagining that the target was Seirei. Aiming at "her" with his arrows was better than seeking her out and doing his best to make her hurt as much as he did. That was the theory, at least. But not when his anger kept getting the best of him, clouding his judgement.

By now, the target had stopped moving, so Lian walked over, and set it in motion once more. Then he walked back, and readied another arrow. This time, he had more success. The arrow struck the target's outer ring. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it was progress. He would take what he could get.

Lian continued to practice, keeping a firm grasp on his emotions as he did so. By the end of the bell, he was hitting the target consistently with three out of five arrows. Most of his shots fell within the outer ring, or the next one in. But a few were closer to the center, with his best shot of the bell landing in the middle of the second ring of the target.

Feeling satisfied with his progress, it was time to meet up with Zethar. It didn't take him long to find the older man. His hunting partner, a girl who looked to be several years younger than he was. She had firey red hair, and stormy green eyes. Her eyes struck him as being quite pretty. He wouldn't forget eyes like that any time soon. Lian smiled as he made his greetings to Zethar. Then he turned to the girl.

"I'm Lian Windrunner of the Sapphire Clan." he introduced himself formally.

"Zethar told me that you were interested in learning how to hunt? He asked me if I would be willing to take you out into the Sea of Grass, and give you a few lessons." he said with a smile..
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[Ruari Darkwind]

When he approached them, Ruari was taken aback that a hunter had been acquired to teach her so swiftly, and it was one that didn't seem to mind having to accompany a novice into the wilderness. Her brow furrowed, thinking, but it cleared quickly enough before she'd managed to grasp at any straws and she instead offered a smile in greeting.

"I am Ruari Darkwind of the Emerald Clan," she said, by way of introduction to mirror his own formality. At least he was Drykas; Ruari had no patience with strangers that came to Endrykas and acted as if, in her opinion on their attitude, they knew better than the Drykas at functioning in Drykas land. Genuinely, she signed greeting and gladness. "You are a proficient hunter?"

Hesitantly then, unsure as to what they may be hunting and maybe a little more than concerned that it may be a creature beyond her skill and ability to take on, she asked in regards to what he would train her on, and if he would teach her to use the bow or something else. She expected a bow.

"I do not have a weapon with which to hunt," she finished. Although she did carry a dagger on her, made from the bone of a horse and older than anything else she owned. She looked to Zethar. "Am I able to borrow one?"

[Lian Windrunner]

Lian smiled at Ruari's introduction, which was a mimic of his own formal introduction. Belatedly, he signed polite but relaxed greetings.

"I am competent enough, though I would not call myself truly skilled. I know what I am capable of, but perhaps more importantly, I know which prey remains beyond my skills to bring down. More of my hunts are successful than not, though I often resort to less than traditional means to find my prey."

Lian hesitated for a few ticks.

"I brought down my first grass bear late last season. But - "

He held up a hand in caution.

"I was with a member of the Watch at the time, and we came across the bear while hunting deer. I am not fool enough to think I could handle one by myself...or while teaching someone who is new to hunting. My arrow was the one that killed the grass bear we ran into, but it was more luck than anything else."

Lian's tone and posture held confidence in his own abilities, but no sign of overconfidence, or arrogance. He was merely relating the facts of the hunt. When Ruari asked if she could borrow a weapon, Zethar frowned, and shook his head.

"I'm afraid not." he said slowly.

"We have none to spare at the moment. In any case, it's best that you pick a weapon that truly interests you. As you practice with it, it will become yours in a way that no borrowed weapon could be. You will learn the strengths and weaknesses of your particular weapon. How to best use its special strengths, and how to compensate for its weaknesses. Perhaps it would be best if you returned once you have bought a weapon for yourself?" he suggested.

Lian frowned. It seemed like a waste of both of their time to have made plans for a hunting lesson and not actually have one.

"What if..." he mused out loud.

Lian hesitated. Would Ruari be agreeable to his suggestion? Was it wise to make such a suggestion in the first place? Or was he putting them both at risk by suggesting it?

"I can't let you borrow my short bow so I can teach you how to use it. Since you are new to hunting, you would not have the skill to defend us if we were attacked by a predator while out in the Sea of Grass. But if you wish, I can take you out, and you can watch me hunt. See my stance, and how I hold the bow. Such things can be learned by watching someone demonstrate them, though it will still take a great deal of practice to master them. More importantly, I can teach you some things about tracking your prey. Possibly a bit about stealth, though I have much to learn in that area myself." he said ruefully.

Lian watched Ruari closely, trying to get an idea of what she thought about his offer.

"Would something like that interest you?".
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[Ruari Darkwind]

Ruari smiled when he amended his greeting into something less formal, but she withheld her own echo. She was interested in what else he had to offer her, and she mustn't act so much like a child anymore.

The hunter spoke confidently, and also with a measure of restraint in his own skills. He must have spent time beyond the tent city. There were times when her family did the same, breaking away from Endrykas in the warm season to strike out into the south, but she couldn't say that she was confident in the idea of hunting things out there without the companionship of those people who shared blood with her. She envied this hunter, and the other hunters who made this their life. Could she hope to match it?

The smile that had ghosted across her features dimmed slightly at the tale of the grass bear. Ruari had personally never seen one, not even the skin, but she seen the claws, and heard the stories of them, and she feared that animal. Knowing that this man, and the Watchman, had brought one down, bolstered her respect for him. She signed out her sentiments wordlessly.

However, she couldn't commit to this. There was no weapon for her to use, after all, and she couldn't be of use to him as a helpless child in the grassland. Her hands folded, muting her grassland sign, and she offered him a quick dip of her brow. She was neither stealthy nor strong, and her hands were equipped for medicine rather than harm. She wanted to learn what he had to teach her, but she wasn't ready for it now, even with the man staring at her expectantly and the other hunters half-watching them.

"I'm afraid I'll need to decline," softly, she said her words, because she didn't want to provoke him by turning him down suddenly. "I'll find you when I am ready, though. I would like to learn what you would teach me sometime." And she smiled, because she meant it.

[Jasmine Stormblood]

Let me know if I missed anything

 

Ruari Darkwind

XP

• Socialization: 3 XP
• Observation: 2 XP

Lores

• Ruari: ready to learn something new
• Ruari: member of the Emerald Clan