PM to join Is that a hunt or is that a chase

[Amunet]

73rd day of Fall, 515 av
6th Bell
East North east of Endrykas, near the Zeis River

She rose from her camp before dawn to prepare for a foraging expedition. What she used to do for fun was now a necessity. Amunet doned warmer clothing as a frost had settled overnight. It seemed the smell of rain was in the air. That in itself was not unusual, but the pattern of it was being unpredictable. She ate simply and moved to her Strider to ready her for the journey. She would be out a day or two. The Pavilion that repaired wagons would watch her camp. She did birth their youngest child recently with both mother and child healthy. That in itself was a bit hairy. The mother’s heart beat and breathing was alarming. Still, despite that, the ending came out a positive one.

She would be taking her young hunting cat and hunting dog. Bringing back small game to add to the dried meat stores would be needed. The donkeys were not too far off grazing with the nearby herd. The had on their halters the simple braid of white and red. It was enough to differentiate her donkeys from the wagon repair family’s herd. The Brazier was well out and so was her cooking fire. The cold blew up to her almost instantly as she mounted Shetanae with a swing up of her legs. Leia jumped from the ground up to the pad easily now not needing Amunet’s help. Camile trotted alongside as they moved out heading east north east. The girl had overheard hunters saying that rabbits, prairie dogs, partridge, turkey and other small game would be out there plenty still.

The light was rising in early morning splendor revealing the thick and heavy bodied clouds that would in time produce rain showers. Where it would produce them was the uncertainty. She prayed that she would have enough time to get something for her stores. The easy running gate ate the distance up. She came up to a stop as the Syna’s light strengthened. She tried to see what she could find using what Lian had taught her. She shouldn’t be hunting alone but she had little choice. Word had spread of what occurred and those words were scathing and scandalous. Pratal, no doubt, helped that along. She wasn’t shunned like he wanted, but most would rather leave her and her bad luck be. Not that it was really bad luck but the Drykas were a superstitious lot. She started looking for prints in the mud or fur along the bushes.

She looked with some frustration. Though she found late plums still on the trees that she would pick. These can be dried nicely for the winter to add vital nutrients. She reached as high as she could go to get as many as she could that were not too ripe. She found lemon grass a little further up the trail. With her dagger she would cut bunches of this herb that would flavor teas. Her sharp dagger would be selective of cutting enough but skipping and not taking too much. The red head kept walking as the dog looked around. Leia was at her side also. She came across a stick that was about three feet long. The girl used this to rattle bushes to encourage what was in it to come out. She was still looking for something in the ground that would resemble something edible.

The effort of rattling the three foot grasses and low bushes proved more fruitful than looking for tracks though she was still looking inbetween the clumps of grass for such things. A rabbit shot out of its hiding spot and Camile took off like a shot. Leia not to be outdone chased after before Amunet could call her. She sighed as she called her strider to her as she came up with a mouthful of grass. The went off in an easy canter once she had swallowed her mouthful . Only way to keep up with the two of them was on horse. Leia was proving to be gaining in the ability in speed. The young six month old hunting cat was determined to help with the hunt.

When she caught up with them, Camile was crunching the carcass. “Camile!!” The dog looked up with the limp rabbit in her mouth. The young lady sighed as she dismounted, patted the side of her leg. The dog trotted to her. Amunet glared at her as the dog managed to look apologetic and dropped the mangled rabbit at her feet. “Why do you have to crunch it so much?” Not really expecting an answer but it was very frustrating.

The hide would be only useful for strips or to make into glue. This was dinner though. She put that on her yvas tied by a rope. Leia found a ground squirrel, but the experimental batting of it caused her to lose it into the ground. The cat looked at the hole as if how dare that hole be there. She looked at her Mistress. “Sorry Leia, you lost that one.” The cat actually laid her ears back as she looked around and then laid down for a moment to catch her breath.

[Azmere]

East of Endrykas and not far from the Zeis River, a lone tent glistened as the dying moon and awakening sky shone dim reflections. Inside slept a man and his horse. The groans of the earth woke the beast who moved with practiced ease in the dark under the canvas. (Those with little possessions tend to have more space in their tents than anything else.) The strider lowered his head and placed his nose against the shoulder of his rider and gave a stern nudge. The man responded by rolling over and chewing a few bites of air before the soft, rhythmic breathing of sleep resumed. The horse did not like being ignored and snorted allowing the hot, moist air to blast the man in his face. The little trick worked like a charm and Azmere rose from his bed with a start.

“Confounded creature!” Azmere sat up and looked around in the dark of his space with his palms on the ground behind him. He drew his knees up closer to his chest then rubbed his face with his hands brushing the sleepy dirt from his eyes and stimulating the blood beneath the surface of his skin. It had been a cold night but the tent shielded the duo from the wind and the bedroll combined with the warm blanket took care of the rest. Azmere set about the task of breaking down camp. It was still a bell or two until dawn and there was much to do.

First thing’s first; illumination. Azmere grabbed his flint and steel and brought them around to his lantern. First strike was a dud, second was off target but the third; well, you know what they say. The tent came alive as the oiled wick took to flame. He replaced the flint and steel in the usual place within his backpack then set about his other chores. Azmere slipped the yvas onto Hephiestian and stroked the animal’s neck and mane with his rough hand for a moment. They did not talk but the physical contact was its own form of communication. After a few moments, Azmere pushed open the flap by releasing the tie and ushered his companion outside. It was still very much dark outside. Hephiestian walked a few paces and stopped to eat some grass. His rider let the tent close and went back to his duties.

Azmere stashed the bed roll and blanket off to the side. He tied his backpack shut and placed it by the door and was about to do the same with his rucksack but stopped and decided to check some items. Sitting down on his knees with his feet beneath him, Azmere opened the sack and removed his preserving kit. He had a jaw full of sawdust and another full of salt with several empty ones available for storage. He had a ton of sheeting in random sizes as he hadn’t used much this season. His tool for sawdust was getting dull, however, and he would have to see about having Caloke or Ercere show him how to sharpen it. Feeling better after the inspection, Azmere replaced these things and repacked them into the rucksack which found itself right next to the backpack. Azmere looked around and was satisfied with how things had gone. Next was to load up and then break down the tent and tarp which he used as a floor to keep the moisture from himself and his strider. Before he tackled that final task, Azmere lay down on his back in the middle of the tent. He reached over and extinguished the lantern then closed his eyes. Interlacing his fingers, he allowed them to rest upon his sternum and focused for a moment on his breathing. Not too deep, not shallow but regulated and even helped him relax into a meditative state.

Azmere whispered a prayer to Zulrav asking for strength to accomplish his goals and the blessing of a few dry bells to gather some food. Once he finished this, Azmere allowed his mind to drift down into the earth beneath him and tease in and out of the web as if asking permission to use the resource. Permission might be the wrong term for it but it was an act of patience. One of Azmere’s skill commanded nothing of the web but rather made use of it like a privilege. He soon found his body feeling weightless and could sense the perimeter of the tent. His mind moved along the woven strands of djed a few yards to where Hephiestian was eating. The strider was eating and looked up as if he knew Azmere was standing there. The Drykan man lingered around his steed for a moment admiring the beauty of Hephiestian before venturing out further. He had placed a few snares about the area last night before making camp and decided it would be easier to use the web to check them rather than actually hoof around making racquet and scaring the game.

Several hundred yards away towards the river was a knoll that had several holes around it. The prints revealed by the dying rays of yesterday’s sun indicated rabbits lived nearby. Azmere chased the blue strands of djed at the speed of thought to where he had placed a few snares made from twigs and rope. Azmere was no master trapper but he had some good concepts. The first one was broken clean through. He made a note to stop using the hollow twigs from cotton weeds. Following another link of webbing, Azmere moved around the knoll to where he had placed a second snare. This one had a rabbit caught within its loop. Azmere noted the creature’s broken hind leg and studied the scene a bit more by kneeling down around the tiny captive. The knot he had used must’ve slipped as it tightened thus allowing the rabbit to pass partially through the rope before it tightened and snapped the creature’s leg. It was dying but Azmere would have to investigate some new knots to avoid this in the future. Torture was not the intent of these simple devices.

[Azmere]

Azmere had two more traps to check and so he coasted along the djed lines to where he found a squirrel hanging from the rope he had attached to a small tree’s branch which he bent near the riverbed. This animal was dead and Azmere studied his trap wishing he could have caught something bigger but content with the work. He had one more to check and this was the one Azmere was most curious about. He had tested a similar design before and failed miserably but the mechanics hadn’t played out correctly. This time, the novice hunter was sure he had it figured out. Moving with the blue road, Azmere was ten yards from the river and found he was right on time. A young buck was sniffing the salted grass and herb bait right as Azmere arrived. He moved himself to a good vantage point and sat down. The deer was a bit thin, only had four points on his small rack and had a slight tear along the shin of his front left leg. Azmere guessed it was from a fall since the creature didn’t look big enough to outrun a night lion. The animal nibbled tiny bits of the bait three times and each one was not enough to trigger the device. Azmere could feel the hair on his neck stand on end in anticipation.

The deer stopped and looked around and then went for the meal. The buck’s muzzle shoved down into the snack allowing it to eat almost the entire wad of bait. This downward pressure lifted a flat piece of bark which had been holding down the wooden shaft which had been sharpened to nearly a perfect point. The shaft shot out of its little hole because the other end was notched against a tiny piece of bowstring which Azmere had anchored under pressure almost a foot away with a stake and a flat rock. The buck never had a chance as the spike drove into its neck just above the right shoulder. The force was enough to close the small distance and sink the wood several inches into muscle and nicking the artery. The creature cried out and began running around in circles. Kicking and leaping in erratic movements, the wounded animal tried in vain to reach the foreign body lodged in its neck but the blood loss quickly set in. Azmere rose to his feet and watched a moment longer. The deer was slowing and starting to stagger about aimlessly. The hunter knew he had to move quickly. In a flash of blue, Azmere was back at his tent and his body and brought himself out of the trance. Normally, this was a slow process but in his excitement, Azmere did not allow the luxury.

On shaky legs, he got onto all fours, groped for his packs and secured them around his waist and on his back. He tossed his bow over his shoulder and laced on his quiver. He tossed the bed roll and blanket outside, grabbed the lantern and stepped out into the cold morning air. Hephiestian stopped feasting and looked at his human with a quizzical gaze. Azmere staggered to his feet and dropped the tent. He sloppily rolled it up and did the same to his tarp. Hephiestian approached knowing what a dropped tent means. Azmere loaded the supplies into the yvas bags and then mounted the strider. “Ok, chief. I’m a bit woozy but we need to get to our traps, yeah?”

Hephiestian took off at a casual gallop which Azmere would not abide. He tightened his knees against his beast and then kicked his heels into the horse. Hephiestian quickened his pace and the ground became a blur. Azmere had to cling to the yvas with his left hand and Hephiestian’s mane with his right. He couldn’t get a hold of himself but he pressed the horse faster still. Azmere did not want anyone or any thing taking his kill. He sat up and steered Hephiestian around the knoll and over towards the river where the deer had been. He heard everything as if it was taking place inside his ears; the stomping of Hephiestian’s hooves, the rushing of the water against the riverbed and the sounds of a dying animal thrashing in the tall grass. The problem was Azmere couldn’t differentiate the sounds and their relative distance to him. He pulled Hephiestian up to a slow trot and then to a stop. Azmere’s world was spinning and he sat upright and still trying to regain composure. “Hold, my friend. I need a moment.”

Word Count1794

[Amunet]

She gave Camile another disparaging expression as they should get a couple more or something. She started walking along the three to four foot high grass clumps and bushes. Her stick would tap on the bushes or the rushes of tight nit grasses beneath. She looked at the density of it and furrowed her brow. What if something was behind it? With a raised eyebrow she stabbed the stick to go in between the naturally interlacing blades of grass. Pulling aside a portion of it to see within required her to put some pressure to move the thick tall grass. Out jumped a large brownish green thing.

The girl jumped back with a strangled meeping noise as it landed behind her. It was a large toad or bull frog or one of those amphibians. The redhead wasn’t sure which. She huffed sigh and caught her breath before Camile decided to chase the toad. “Camile, No.” The chase was on as the dog tried to get a hold of the unpredictable and unusual prey. The thing didn’t run like it was supposed to but the silkena was supposed to catch it. Right?

Leia was hot on Camile’s heels as it looked like a game. Shetanae moved when her mistress got out of sight. The strider mare was well used to her companion’s antics. “Oh for crying out loud!” She said putting her hands on her hips. The girl returned to a running gate after the dog and the cat and then stopped as the toad or frog went bounding towards the river and her animals had veered a different way. When she caught up with them she found they had stopped. There was a noise. The noise startled Amunet because what if it would hurt Camile or Leia.

Her heart in her chest pounded as she came up closer. There it was a deer. It was in a bit of distress as it oddly was caught in something. First there was no small amount of relief that exited the young woman. Second was that it was strange to find an animal with its head stuck in the grass.

“Camile, stay.” Giving the hand sign as the dog whimpered a little but stayed put. “Leia, you stay too.” The cat managed to look annoyed and circled around the curious struggling object.

Amunet walked around carefully as to try and stay away from the thrashing hooves. It was on the thin side, maybe it was young. It was hard to say. Its head was stuck in bits of something that had it trapped. She tried to get close to it but it started thrashing more. Leia’s instincts kicked in and it tried to go for the throat. Though thin it was a bit too vigorous for the young six month old hunting cat as a leg tried to paw at the cat to get it away from the very frightened buck.

“Leia!!” Amunet called out trying to get the cat’s attention. The cat’s quick reflexes kept her out of the paws way. She was pretty quick. The red head was torn between curiosity at the quick agility she was displaying or the concerned worry that she would get hurt. “Leia!!, come here. “

Without thinking of her own safety, she got close to the head and shoulder of the deer to try and pull the cat away. It was then she saw the components that held the head in such a precarious position. The shoulder of the buck slammed into her as the deer swayed far to the right. Amunet was knocked back as the hooves of the deer came on top of her. Amunet struck out with her own legs to push it back the other way. She got a foreleg and she went to aim for more of the barrel of the body or the shoulder. Her little feet got an accidental footing as she pushed as strongly as she could to get the beast to swing the other way.

[Azmere]

Azmere was still long enough to shake most of his web hangover. He lifted his head and opened his eyes to the morning as the sky looked less like night and more like dawn. The sun was still down but it would only be half of a bell before the orb would set the world on fire. The hunter knew he had to collect his prizes or risk losing them to critters, scavengers and thieves. Raised as a man of honor, Azmere would never take another man’s catch. That’s no to say if he was starving, he wouldn’t wait around to try and convince the other party to share.

Azmere was about to urge Hephiestian forward so they could begin their collections with the young buck when a peculiar sound destroyed the calm of the morning air. It was a woman’s voice! She was yelling at something or someone but the most disturbing part was the shouting was coming from the direction of Azmere’s deer. Without a thought or a word, Azmere tightened his knees into Hephiestian’s sides. The horse took off at a quick cantor. Azmere released his hold on the yvas and slipped his bow over his head. He drew an arrow from his quiver and notched it. Once this was accomplished, he adjusted his grip so that he could hold both with one hand. His free hand slipped back to the yvas and his fingers tightened around it. Azmere dropped his boots against the strider’s sides causing the beast to increase his speed to almost a full gallop. It took very little time to close the distance to the trapped animal.

Upon reaching the crest of the knoll, Azmere could see the commotion. It took a moment to process but the scene unfolded as the duo trotted closer. The figures of a woman and her hunting pets surrounded and harassed the wounded deer. Azmere drew up on the yvas handle which slowed Hephiestian to a brisk walk. Azmere sat up straight in the saddle and took hold of the loaded bow with both hands. Vihar had been tried and always found true. From the way the weapon felt in his hands this cold morning, Azmere had no reason to doubt. He pulled back the string far enough to create a tension that could send a broad arrow accurately to any of the targets within his field of vision and inflict great damage.

Azmere used his legs to steer Hephiestian closer to the farce but kept an average distance of six yards as they circled the mess. He aimed his arrow on the woman but couldn’t quite tell what she was doing. All he knew was that she and her little pets were intruding on his game. Not seeing any windmarks, Azmere had no reason to think the intruder was a Drykas so he called out in his rough Common. “You trespass. Leave.” Not once did he ever take his arrow off of the woman.

[Amunet]

Once she had garnished some working space between the struggling frightened deer and her own legs, she stepped back some as she was trying to get Leia away from the deer before she got hurt. The sound of hooves dancing and a rough bit of common from a baritone stern voice startled her as she whipped her head around and gasped. Those sky blue eyes zeroed in on the man’s eyes. The startling contrast of blue and gold between the two eyes was mesmerizing. It took her a chime or two to pay heed to the arrow trained on her person. She had a slingshot and two daggers on her belt.

She swallowed hard as she backed away from the man. He was obviously Drykas and she didn’t understand why he was pointing a weapon at her much less speaking common. Shetanae came up at a canter as she was not that far away. The Strider being protective of her companion called out shrilly to the stallion that the man was riding. The large Strider mare stopped and maneuvered herself between Amunet and the arrow pointing man laying her ears back as if to dare him to fire the arrow.

It was a that time the young hunting cat who was still thinking this was a game of some kind got a little too close to the buck and a flailing kick sent the cat off to the side with a yowling cry from her. “Leia!!” The red head forgetting about the arrow, the deer and the man on the stallion and ran over to the cat.

“Leia. It will be alright. “ She said in perfect fluent Pavi. Camile was barking at the deer but unless it was running, she had no interest in the deer. The silkena actually was a bit confused with why the deer wasn’t running.

Amunet knelt on the ground as she looked at the cat who was favoring a leg. The glancing blow to the young cat’s shoulder was showing in a marked spot that also took a bit of fur and scraped the skin across the shoulder. “Shetenae. “ She signed for her mount to come around so she could get to her yvas bags. She looked at the man and said in Pavi. “Will you please put that down.” Somewhat frustrated with the whole thing as she signed, ‘Appearance not what looks like’ Once her companion came around she got a cloth and water.

The red head went to clean the wound as she put her palm on the wound. The wound could be treated similarly as a human’s so it stood to reason that this would be no different. If that was so, then the gift she received from Rak’keli would also work. That was what she did, she worked the wound as she would any other wound. The young lady felt the familiar tingle of the mark that swirled and shimmered in opalescent display along the right cheek, the only mark or ‘tattoo’ on the girl. She offered no explanation as to why she did not have wind marks but the way the mare responded to the red head would speak of their bond.

In a few moments the young cat was walking with a slight limp but it was very much better. “You’re riding on the yvas pad back home, Leia. You should be fine in a few days.” She stood up and went to pick the half grown Hunting Cat and put her on the yvas pad of the mare. The mare stood stock still as it was obvious that she was used to the cat riding on the pad. She tapped the outside of her thigh twice before commanding the silkena hound to come to her. The light gold hound trotted to her mistress’s side. She then turned to the Drykas man on top of the stallion. “I am sorry for disturbing your hunt or.. trap or whatever this is, my animals are not trained enough and I take the blame for their actions.”

[Azmere]

Azmere continued to tap his knee against Hephistian’s side. With each small bump, the strider would move a little closer and a little farther towards the head of the knoll. The gentle arc closed the distance slowly and steadily until a second strider entered the picture. The mare protested and made a stance in between the tiny woman and the shot which had been trained on her. Azmere slowly lifted his shot towards the sky and gently eased the string back to slack. He did not remove the arrow but rather swung his leg over his mount and slid down onto his boots in a crouch merely to absorb the impact of the fall. He straightened immediately and began to approach the woman and her tribe of pets.

In its death throws, the deer kicked the tiny hunting cat and sent it flying with a yowl. Azmere peered between the legs of the mare and saw the kill finally die from blood loss and drop against the grass. He frowned wishing he could have eased its suffering much sooner. No animal should suffer for fulfilling its destiny of provision. The man gracefully returned the arrow to his quiver and slung his bow over his head and shoulder allowing the string to drop across chest and settle between his muscles. He reached behind him and patted Hephiestian on his neck and then drew his small knife. He walked towards the horse slowly with no intention to harm it. He simply wanted to get to his catch.

All Drykas understand horses and Azmere had no problems navigating around the beast. Hephiestian moving along as a shadow to his companion didn’t hurt. Once next to the dead animal, Azmere dropped to one knee and went to work beginning the task of freeing it from the trap. While he was doing this, he heard her speaking Pavi to her cat. He lifted his gaze to watch her as she laid her hands upon the creature’s wounds. Without being too obvious, his interest grew when he noticed the flare from the mark on her cheek. She was a healer! Azmere watched the interactions take place and the traing that she had with her animals; some more than others.

He nodded as she explained herself a bit. Obviously, this was a giant misunderstanding. Azmere removed the steak and string and gathered up the base of the trap as well. Even though everything was scavenged from nature, he felt it could be used again. He carried the components to his yvas bag and tucked them away. He returned to the deer and met eyes with the small woman again. He signed a quick ‘No problem’ and then flashed her a polite smile. He dropped down into a squat and slid his arms under the carcass. He rose making sure to keep his back straight and heaved the thing onto Hephiestian’s back making sure to set it down so that it wouldn’t slide off until he had a chance to secure it. Azmere turned back to the woman and used a mixture of speech and sign.

“Is your pavilion near?” He tilted his head to the side. Size wasn’t everything but she was small enough to be considered delicate and Azmere was a bit concerned for her. He touched his chest with his right hand. “Azmere Stormblood.”

[Amunet]

His polite smile relaxed her visibly as she had settled the young cat on the back of her mare. Shetanae put her ears back every so often as she looked at her companion as if to say, this better not be long. The little soft polite smile of her own was given in return. The red head inclined her head in acceptance of that simple gesture. While Amunet was busy taking care of her cat, the man had pulled up his contraption and the buck was ready for transport. No harm done and seemed the air had settled.

She ruffled the light gold fur of the silkena hound sitting near her as she lingered to be polite and to make sure he hadn’t sustained any injury from putting the deer out of its misery. She was able to study his face a little bit more as her brow furrowed at the extent of scaring on his face. No amount of grace she knew of could fix that, but made her more curious than afraid. The girl trained her eyes on the man’s eyes as she found herself staring. Those little fingers raked the wavey red tresses over an ear. It escaped anyway as it flowed with the breeze. It cascade down towards her behind in a shimmering display of various shades of red like a blood red waterfall in the sun. Her head tilted up. This was an action the young lady was used to as it seemed most everyone was taller than her.

Then the question came. “Is your pavilion near?” She didn’t say a word at first as she looked into his eyes. She tried to school her expression to something more flat, try and not show the pain of being exiled from one’s home. Amunet was an emotional sort as she feels deeply. Those eyes went down ever so slowly to the dying grass of yellowing greens, golds and browns.

“My camp is on the outskirts of Endrykas. I am Amunet of the River Flower.” Those eyes trailed back up to his eyes again as her chin lifted. “I probably should find one more rabbit so we can eat tonight.” She said as she was trying to change the subject. There was a rather mangled rabbit on her yvas. The ‘we’ was meaning her and her animals. The silence grew a bit awkward with nothing but the breeze billowing around them as the dancing zephyrs played in the space between the two persons.

[Azmere]

Azmere continued about his business of making his impact on the land as minimal as possible. During the course of this, he caught her looking at his scars. He debated making a joke or a comment but he was not good at those things so he decided against such an action. Azmere took the rope from his yvas bag and quickly tied a few knots around the animal’s ankles. The next step saw the rope under Hephiestian and brought up on the other side. Azmere walked around and fed the ropes so that the neck and flank of the deer was secure before he looped and knotted the other end on the legs. He tested his knots with some quick, strong tugs and then moved around to the other side where Amunet was standing next to her pets.

“My camp is on the outskirts of Endrykas. I am Amunet of the River Flower.”

River Flower? That was odd. River Flower was a place for healers, not a pavilion at all. This woman had no windmarks, visibly at least yet she spoke and understood Pavi as if she’d been taught it her whole life. Azmere nodded once in recognition of the answer trying to process the struggle in her big eyes. He was trying to call up what little he know of other races and if any of Amunet’s features might point her to a culture where she wouldn’t have or need a pavilion. The only one that came to mind was the Inarta but it didn’t really answer his question. It certainly would explain the elegant mass of deep red locks that flowed over the girl. Regardless, Azmere figured it best to not press the issue. There was no need to cause turmoil.

“I probably should find one more rabbit so we can eat tonight.”

Azmere’s expression perked at this change of topic. This was something more suited to the quiet man’s strengths. He patted Hephiestian on the neck and used a mixture of signs and speech to begin a new conversation with Amunet. Azmere signed that there were many rabbits in this area. His hands moved slowly to emphasize many. He watched her expression trying to read more about this strange woman. “I have more traps nearby. Would you like to search the area together?” He smiled politely once more. Deep inside Azmere, he felt a compulsion to help this woman even if he wasn’t sure it was just as simple as tracking down more food. He signed once more to finish his statement that they could find some friends for her rabbit.

[Amunet]

The last signed words of needing to find her rabbit friends caught her funny bone. The red head laughed. It was an easy crystal like sound that came from her as she relaxed more. For some reason the morbid humor of it had been funny and the tension eased. The offer to continue on while he checked his traps while she could see if her dog could mangle another rabbit was appealing. The young woman put her impromptu stick in the yvas bag. It wasn’t that she couldn’t find another stick; this one was just the right length and weight so there was no reason to leave it behind if this one was still working.

The head was inclined as she signed her affirmation as the softened words edged out of her mouth that still twitched in mirth. “I would like that. “ For some reason, the difficulties of the past few days seem to slide off of her shoulders. “Thank you.” She said as she went to Shetanae’s side. Her hand grasped the lower handle of the yvas as her right hand got the top handle. There was a trick to her getting up on the sixteen hand strider mare. She curved her body out and her leg and hips would sweep up and she would pull at the same time. The momentum had her leg sliding up and over, onto the back of the mare. Her body took ticks to settle as she adjusted the half grown hunting cat

Her grip on the side of the mare was true and it seemed, as with any Drykas, she has been riding with yvas for a while. The strider obeyed the signals from her knee and heel as she swung around waiting for the man to show the way to his next location. The dog ran effortlessly beside as silkena were fairly swift runners. Not as fast as a hunting cat but it wasn’t anything to mock either. Amunet followed Azmere to where his next trap was or close to it. Once she got down, she took her stick out and waggled a finger to Leia, the cat.

“You stay right there.” Getting a cat, no matter the size, to behave was an act in patience. No sooner had her mistress turned her back to go along a trail to wiggle grass or bushes for rabbits, then the cat was on the ground. The jump down had her favoring one leg and the injury though kept the cat close to the mare and not wandering too far.

Amunet sighed at the cat giving her a disparaging expression. The healer, none the less, looked at the ground to see if she could spot any tracks at all as her dog was at her side looking for anything that she could run down. She didn’t see any tracks she could recognize. Her hand coasted along spots in the ground looking for impressions on the soil in between the clumps of grass or maybe a bit of fur left behind. She found nothing of note as she stood up and started to make trail. The girl was poorly equipped to handle anything large or menacing as she used her stick to poke around large clumps of grass, shake shrubs and scare small game for Camile to chase. She didn’t want to disturb Azmere anymore than necessary but was glad for his company in case said large and menacing came about. He did have a strikingly intimidated appearance. She still wondered why he had trained an arrow on another Drykas, but she shook her head from those thoughts as the stick was thrust into tall weeds and grasses. The girl wiggled the stick around to scare anything out of there.

This process gave her a chance to reflect a bit on this strange scarred man. His quiet nature was oddly a comfort. Her father was a quiet man. She had learned to read quiet. It was why the eyes and face was so important. She looked to see if she could do that with this man. What map would he show or tell? Her curiosity was one of her most telling qualities and sometimes one that got her into trouble. Those kind sky blue eyes looked onto his face as if searching for something.