[Kabrin Road] The Long Road (Private)

[Stitch]

3rd of Winter, 510 AV. Traveling along the Kabrin Road, on route to Taldera. “Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” Stitch, come play with us! Children's laughter echoed in his ears, and Stitch gratefully listened, desperately clinging to everything he could remember. He could almost recall every waking moment he had spent with those children. He had left Syliras behind only a few hours ago, and the memories of his wonderful life there were already starting to haunt him. He had a lot of amazing memories. Could he really do this? Could he really just leave behind his home of over twenty-five years? He had just left without even saying goodbye to his most precious memories of all. What were the children thinking? Did they miss him? Did they want to see him again? Thoughts and memories churned through his head, sending dozens of pent-up emotions running through his body. He had managed to hold back his feeling about the situation for awhile now. How long would his facade laugh? How long could he keep smiling, especially with all of this building up? He felt completely and utterly depressed, yet he also felt as if a great rage was building deep within him. He felt totally alone, yet here he was with a group of people... A friend, even. Multiple friends, hopefully. Why weren't they helping this feeling of his? Especially Malia, who sat right behind him. He wondered if she was concerned. He was never this quiet. She would know better than anyone. Stitch had been silent for most of the trip. Right after they had exited the gates of Syliras, it was like a switch had been flicked off inside of him. He had once been comically awkward with the horse, taking several attempts to mount it, and even more to actually stay on it. Now though, he was a still figure, sitting like a statue in the saddle, just riding its slow gait with a bit of a slump to his back. Any attempts at conversation would be met with half-hearted smiles, perhaps a nod or a shake of the head. Sometimes he didn't even respond at all, being too busy in his own little private world to notice the others around him. He simply existed there on the saddle, having an aura of awkward silence around him. The blind man was an odd sight for those who hadn't met him. It wasn't all that cold out, perhaps around 50 degrees with no wind... Yet he was bundled in a wool cloak, and a rather thick wool outfit. He was dressed as if it was below freezing. The hood of the cloak was down, and the bandages that covered his eyes were easily seen, leading to the second odd thing. It was easy to come to the conclusion that he was blind. So far though, he had acted as if he could see quite well. There hadn't been many instances where one would notice, but if one had paid close attention when watching Stitch mount the horse... He had moved quite well. His horse was a large, white-colored female Frostmarch. He had spoken to it once, calling it "Mehabiah". The horse seemed to be fairly good-natured, and had kept quiet as well. It didn't glance at any of the other horses present, simply went about it's task. It carried two saddlebags, one on either side, and two passengers. A human named Stitch, and a nuit named Malia. They had been plodding along the Kabrin road for about two hours now, deciding to take a somewhat slow pace at first. Stitch and Malia would need a little time to get used to the horse, as well as the style of travel. After they had managed to get comfortable with the horse, and the way of living, then they would pick up their pace a little bit. Syliras was probably going to be the easiest part of the trip, bandits or not. The Frozen North would be the difficult stretch. With this in mind, this first day was probably going to be the last day they could take it slowly. It would also be the day that Malia and Stitch experienced a lot of firsts. Stitch had never ridden a horse in this cold, nor had he ever needed to gather firewood, or his own food. There had been that one journey to the Labyrinth in the Wildlands... But that was different. It had been summer, and they had packed quite well. This time around, Jaeden had somehow managed to convince Stitch that they would be able to use wilderness survival skills to handle themselves. Stitch didn't have any wilderness survival skills. Without a word, Stitch gave a slight tug on the reins, and the horse quietly obeyed. A small path had become visible on the side of the road, through the bare trees. It was the second of the various Traveler Shelters littering the Kabrin Road within Syliras, and it would be where the party slept for the night. The day was starting to turn to night, and Stitch suspected there was still a lot for him to learn. He wanted to participate in gathering the food, chopping the firewood, starting the fire, and all that 'survival' stuff. Slowly cocking his head toward Jaeden and his companions, he gave a forced smile, speaking in a light tone. "Shall we go ahead and get ready to rest here for the night, Milord? Miladies?"

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden sat atop of Fortunado, the reigns hanging gingerly between his fingers as the large horse stepped along the path of his own accord with no urging from Jaeden himself. The Nightwalker knew enough to stick to a path when traveling it, and would follow such until a tug on the reigns from Jaeden hinted that he go somewhere else. A good kinship of sorts had been built between Jaeden and his horse, as the pair of them very often knew each other’s habits. If it had been any stronger, Fortunado would have been a Kelvic, and they would have been bonded.

Jaeden had taken the lead, and reluctantly chosen to follow the main path instead of cutting through the dense forestation on their trek. He felt comfortable in the woods. It was practically his home. Still, as he peered over his shoulder, eyeing Stitch and Malia, the two he had accepted to guide, he knew the woods were not for everyone. There was no use in throwing them into the shyke of wilderness survival strait away. Keeping to the main path had its dangers in the risk of both slavers or bandits, but the wilderness itself presented more sometimes. There were wild animals and monsters, creatures like Jouneymen. The winter season cut down on it some, causing a lot of the poisonous insects and reptiles to go into hibernation, but it was also a wide open area, and with no real snow fall yet this day, it was easy to get lost and be unable to find your way back.

As the troupe came to a stop, Jaeden took a long slow look of their surroundings. His eyes then lifted to the sky to look for any signs of a storm that might be approaching. Finally a fogged breath was released as he reached up, scratching at the short whiskers that lined his face. His gaze caught the pre-built travelers shelter, giving a faint grumble over it. Such things were sometimes beacons to those individuals who preyed on travelers. They know that eventually someone will use it, and that someone generally wouldn’t have a great deal of skill for the wilderness itself. Otherwise they’d be building their own or have a tent handy. His mind snapped away from such however as Stitch’s voice rang into his head.

Jaeden remained silent for another moment, his gaze moving over each in the party. Finally, he reached upward, lightly stroking his fingers along Tasha’s red hair as she rode along Fortunado’s back behind him, releasing a fogged breath. “Alright then, let’s get started.” Jaeden said as he slowly dismounted from Fortunado’s back. His gaze moved to Aella first, giving her a smile and a wink as he began unpacking Fortunado‘s other burdens. “Aella, if you would be a dear and set up some snares around the area? Perhaps we’ll get lucky and there will be a couple of rabbit for stew tomorrow morning or something. Don‘t go too far out though, I want to be able to hear you in case you come across any trouble.”

His head then turned, the corner of his eyes gazing into her own as he helped her down from Fortunado‘s back. “Tasha, please be a gem and take to the skies?” Jaeden then asked of the Kelvic as he dropped a large pack along the ground. “I want you to take a couple of sweeps and survey the area. Find both the nearest source of water and see if you can spot any undesirables lurking around. Stick high and close to the trees though so any that might spot you can’t reach you or get an easy shot on you with ranged weapons. If you think you can dive at the water source and pull out some fish with those talons of yours, feel free to do so as well.”

Jaeden then felt a set of paws pressing against his thigh. Looking down, he saw Red staring back up at him with an expectant gaze before a quick yelp was given. “Of course you have something to do, Red.” Jaeden said, giving the small fox a smirk as he gave a soft scratch to the Kelvic‘s ears. “I want you doing the same as Tasha. Keep your nose open for trouble, but also see if you can catch the scent of any deer or elk we can hunt up for dinner.”

Jaeden’s gaze then shifted between both Red and Tasha. “Either of you spot danger, give me the mental holler and return strait away.” Jaeden explained before looking to Aella. “Aella, my link to you through my mark is fresh, so I’ll be able to sense if you’ve come into a spot of trouble too, perhaps save you for a change.”

Jaeden then began to unfasten the strap along Fortunado’s saddle, looking over to Malia. “If you would be so kind and start unpacking tents and other supplies?” Jaeden then asked her. “I would appreciate it.”

Jaeden’s gaze then finally fell to Stitch as he began taking heavy steps over towards him. “As for you Stitch,” Jaeden then said as he let his hand fall along the blind man’s shoulder, “we’re going to take it slow at first. We’ll build the fire pit, collect some wood. There’s no real snow fall around here yet, so it should be plentiful, and we’ll want to collect some excess.”

Jaeden then stepped back near Fortunado, pulling a woodsman axe and spade from the pack he hand pulled off the Nightwalker. “If it does snow, we’d end up having to dig up snow to get at it, and it will be more difficult to get a fire going due to it being wet and cold.” Jaeden explained before handing out the handle of the spade to Stitch, tapping the tip of it along his arm if necessary. “Speaking of cold, you should take off the cloak. You’ll want to start building up your tolerance level to the cold starting now. When we reach the Northern Reaches, the weather here will seem like spring time, and if you’re not use to these temperatures, you’ll be unable to function at all under the temperatures up there.”

[Malia]

It was the first time Malia traveled by horse and with companions. That was about the most important first she experienced so far. Getting used to the muscle movement of the large Frostmarch under her took some time, especially with Stitch in front of her. She had to share the saddle with him and cling to him at the same time, since she was the one sitting in the back. She’d rather change positions with him, not being in charge was unusual for her, but she didn’t complain. She was never sure when Stitch needed help, but she figured it couldn’t be bad if he learned riding. Not considering the fact that she was a beginner too, naturally.

While slowly following the Kabrin Road, with Syliras disappearing behind their backs, Malia let the familiar feeling of being on the road sink in. Many times she had left cities, left all material belongings she had assembled behind, just to escape from the citizens’ suspicion. She had traveled by foot and used roads as well as woods and fields, strolling through the wilderness like a shadow or a ghost. After more than a lifetime of hiding and walking, she had gotten used to avoiding any trouble when outside a city. Some kind of instinct had developed, that, as soon as the city walls of Syliras were out of sight, switched on. Her senses took in everything she could perceive of the surroundings and her eyes were constantly searching the horizon for potential sources of danger.

Still, she kind of expected the wilderness guide Stitch had hired to be more competent than her. Although she was more experienced in terms of years, Malia was willing to accept the hierarchy and respect Jaeden’s decisions and commands. What she didn’t understand, though, was the pack of animals following the athletic figure. Were they Kelvics? They surely appeared more intelligent and loyal than ordinary pets, plus those particular species weren’t usually following humans around. In the end, that was a part of Jaeden’s privacy.

Every now and then, Malia shifted into a more comfortable position. Apart from that, she endured the first day on horseback with relative quietness. She addressed Stitch once, whispering the words into his ear. “You will get used to it.” Not more, not less. Indeed, she realized that the end of a life in Syliras had to be hard for him. But to her, who had experienced countless ends, his sadness was a human thing. Melancholy and nostalgia she understood. Not letting oneself be overwhelmed by it was the art of surviving.

As for her, she was content with trying out something new. She had stayed in Syliras too long. With her arms around Stitch’s torso, her lungs breathing fresh air and her body feeling stronger than ever, she perhaps enjoyed the first day more than the others.

When they stopped for some rest, she slipped from the horseback before Stitch did. A glance from the corner of her eye, making sure he was alright. Jaeden started giving out duties for assembling a camp, everything she knew about building shelters in the wilderness suddenly came to her mind. Therefore, she spoke up, addressing Jaeden for the first time. Her voice was monotone as ever and her expression like a blank paper sheet, but the words spoke of practical thinking and efficiency. “I can start assembling them as far as a single person can. I have traveled for a long time before and know a bit about surviving in the wilderness. I do not need any water or food, though. Never”, she added and hoped she had made herself clear.

If he hadn’t already anticipated something similar, it would then occur to Jaeden that Malia wasn’t a simple human. With cheeks reddened from the chill, blood-red hair and a slender, petite figure she looked like the typical attractive doll girl, albeit radiating a sinister aura. However, the bottomless charcoal eyes, the deathly pale skin and how she moved, slower and more careful, a soul smoothed by the centuries, indicated what she was if one only took a closer look.

The Nuit went to undo the knots and straps and lift the tent packages and cooking supplies from their horse’s back. Without Uldr’s mark, the red shine in her eyes, she surely wouldn’t have been able to work with baggage so heavy ...

[Tasha]

The traveling alongside Den and Red, turned to be so far a good experience aside from the cold winds already in the new area, Tasha tried to stick like glue more to Den's body as they were riding his horse.Her eyes were gazing at the surroundings and the nice shapes from the trees, far away, yet her green eyes made their way to look up to the sky, she was a bird after all.The sky was her home, her freedom.However, they did stopped from walking, as the other persons which were with them in this journey made their words clear, Tash, as Den called her, got down from his horse jumping down the ground. "God..it's colder here! I will freeze my butt, and who's fault is that hm?" muttered under her breath, staring at Den's frame twitching her lips together before taking another look around her.Everything seemed different, yet familiar in the same time, still felt damn odd to her.Of course, Den was already giving to each one of them some duties to be taken care of, and Tasha smirked over her own duties. "Oh,..I start to think that what you expect me to do, is only a matter of time to simply see me naked, Den. You know, you could simply ask for it.." paused a bit looking at him as she begun to take off the skirt, being on the other side of Fortunado, showing her tongue to Den firstly. "I really am thinking, that you got no other excuse to see the female body in it's full greatness or you can't simply resist to the temptation..You really are something." said once again as her clothes were off to the ground and some small sparkles filled the near air, and turned into her kelvic form into the Black Hawk.She spread her wings, flapping them around for the moment and flew slowly from there, just above Den and the others going further up to the sky. It was a nice weather so far, Tasha tried warm up some more by moving her wings faster, scanning the area for any source of water as simply move above some big branches trees;so far not spotting anything, only the trees and the wind blowing through her feathers.Things still, can have a twist when you less expect, bad or good it will come for sure.Making another quick turn, moved her wings once more passed by a more flat ground, took another look around as soon some sounds were heard from down there, and a familiar sound reached Tasha's ears.Of course, made her way flapping the black wings, to land nearby as to check what those sounds were made of or by what.

[Aella]

People. Too many people… Though she’d ventured into the populated city a few times in recent days, there had always been a means to escape if needed. This was different. There was a certain bit of grim uneasiness in the small woman’s way of going about things as they traveled along, though it likely came off more as her being the serious, quiet type than on edge. She was just starting to get used to spending time about Jaeden’s little group, and for some reason adding two more to the mix caused her to feel a little bit of dread at the bottom of her stomach. She wondered if she would ever get used to being around others or if she’d mourn her time as a hermit in the same manner she’d mourned her husband. People depended on her. She wasn’t sure she cared very much for that… The thought of others counting on her gave her a good spook. She had worked long and hard to keep from any sort of responsibility of that manner down to the fact that, despite having a small amount of grace with her horse, the creature didn’t have a name. When Jaeden asked her to go set traps, anyone looking at her would have caught an expression of relief washing over her face. The smile she gave him as a response was clearly thankful but underneath it there was a true sense of warmth. She cared about him despite not wanting to give that fact away. The smile didn’t last long, because he went about mentioning his bond to her. She’d accepted said bond, of course, but most of the time she seemed rather uncomfortable with it. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be connected to him. She just had immense talent when it came to denying her own desires, so sharing said desires wasn’t exactly on the top of the list of things she felt the need to do before dying. “Don’t advertise that, Jaeden… You’ll ruin my chances with Stitch,” she shot at him. Her hands fell to her hips as she heaved a breath of air and rolled her eyes. Those used to her wouldn’t need to look to notice the twinkle in her eyes that she seemed to get when giving her new partner trouble. She gathered the things she would need: bow, arrows, rope… And she was off on her merry way to set up traps. “Bunch of weirdos,” she mumbled under her breath as she went into the wood-line. Really, though, it was an odd group. Automatically her eyes fell to the ground as she began looking about for signs of animals. Lips pursed as she moved along, studying the trees and plants, looking for droppings or bits of fur. For the first time since leaving on this journey, she felt herself becoming a little more at peace as her focus went from the others and onto working on something she understood. Further into the woods, she paused. It wasn’t animal tracks she saw, but instead a good spot containing mud. Bending down, she took the rope she had with her and began pushing it into the ground. A moment later she was making sure her hands were covered, grinding in the muck under her fingernails and into the creases of her palms. It was important to cover up her scent on the ropes. Her luck came to her, because as she stood up she saw signs that some sort of little animal had been feeding on the plants not too far away. A tiny, triumphant grin lifted onto her lips as she stood up and made her way over, carefully stepping this way and that. For a moment she simply studied the area, considering the placement of the snare. That was, after all, the fine art of trapping. You could set thousands of perfect snares, but if you didn’t do it correctly you’d end up with nothing.

[Ataraxia]

They were watching. It had been a stroke of luck, really. Only be returning to familiar territory had they chanced upon him. It was unclear what he was doing out in the wilderness with such a large troupe accompanying him, but it mattered not. They had sat motionless as the group passed by on the road, waiting until their figures were but specks of dust in their vision before speaking. "You move ahead. They may stop at one of those deathtraps along the road. Move past it, and take a position along the road. If they have not passed by nightfall, return here." The thick one ordered in a flat monotone. He was well built, brawny even. His face was caked in mud, a haphazard camouflage applied to avoid detection as their prey had passed them. "Agreed. I couldn't tell if the woman was with him, but from the back I saw at least two female figures. She must be one of them." The thin one replied, rising from his hiding spot and moving silently backwards. He would move swiftly through the wilderness, a ways out from the road but parallel to it. Thick and Thin were experienced woodsman, having survived for so long in the wilderness and with just the two of them to boot. The two of them intended on attacking this large threat by themselves, that much was for certain. When Thin returned at nightfall, the two of them would creep towards their targets camp. How they intended to handle such a large and threatening group had yet to be seen... "Thick" : "Thick" Brawling - 44 Bodybuilding - 51 Woodsman's Axe - 15 Wilderness Survival - 55 A mammoth of a man, dressed in leather and furs for the winter. Only the considerable bulk of his arms is visible beneath his clothing. Interestingly enough, they showcase a plethora of raised scars that look like methodical slices from a knife. A slightly rusted woodsman's axe hangs from his belt, and he seems to have a slight limp when he walks that tells the tale of a major injury from the past. "Thin" : "Thin" Kukri (Knife) - 36 Stealth - 45 Wilderness Survival - 46 Gnosis: Vexation (1 Mark) Much smaller in dimension than his companion in both height and weight, "Thin" is still a dangerous fellow. His preferred weapon is the kukri knife, a brutally designed weapon with a harsh cutting edge capable of relieving limbs from their owners with relative ease. Visible on his right hand are a network of crimson veins, a clear symbol of his devotion to Krysus. Moderator NoteFor now, just continue as you were with setting up the camp. Next round, the action begins.

[Stitch]

You'll get used to it. The words had struck a chord within Stitch, though he was not so sure to what tune. Some kind of emotion welled up within him, but at this time, he couldn't place it. Anger, that he would have to get used to it? Sorrow, that fate had dealt him this hand? Perhaps begrudging acceptance, knowing that the words she spoke were true? He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure at all. He simply nodded at her, speaking in a soft whisper. "This one knows." He briefly wondered if it would have been more polite to have Malia take the saddle, but quickly discarded the idea. He would have been clinging to her rather frail body the entire way to Taldera, and he didn't think she would appreciate that. The rest of the party slowly pulled to a halt, and Stitch cast his Auristic gaze to Jaeden, watching the man. The woodsman was quiet for a moment, a slight air of discontent lingering in his aura. He didn't attempt to argue though, merely adjusted to the situation he had been given, and quickly went about making the best of it. He apparently didn't like something about stopping here, but he was holding it in. He was doing it with only a moment of distaste, too. Stitch would be happy to pay the man every single Miza he asked for. Tasks were given, and Malia quickly dismounted. Stitch turned his attention to her next, giving her a quick study. She seemed at home in the woods, and Stitch supposed that made sense. From what he understood, she often traveled through the Wilderness, although she was usually alone. He was happy she had come with them, honestly. She was the closest friend that Stitch had, and at the moment, really the only one. Jaeden could be considered a friend too Stitch supposed, but they had met through odd circumstances. They were odd friends. Stitch trusted the man, though. The Game had proven useful for that much. And the others... they would soon feel the invisible gaze passing over them, as if the Blind Man could somehow see. Stitch didn't know enough about them yet, but they each seemed quite alright. Their Auras were all wild and human, easily identifying them as Kelvic, and they each had a link to Jaeden. Both bonded, like Kamalia and Gromhir, and bound. Bound with the chains of that Mark, one that he had learned about from another Marked. They each had happy auras, though one seemed a bit more... wild. He would find out more about them later. He had work to do for now. He swung a leg off the horse to dismount, and promptly fell, awkwardly tangling himself up in the stirrups to grandly crash to the ground. The Blind Man flushed a bright red, and frantically stumbled up, not wanting to look like a fool in front of any of those gathered. Hurriedly grabbing the spade that was soon offered to him, snatching it almost before Jaeden had held it out, Stitch quickly strode off toward the little cabin. He had only gotten a few feet before he paused again, turning to look back toward Jaeden, speaking in a heart-breakingly embarrassed tone. "Uhm... Does it matter where this one digs? A fire-pit, you say? This one assumes we will be building, the, uh... fire? In the pit? Like a trap? Or for us? And this one really has to take off the cloak? It is... cold. And milord says it will be colder?" He hadn't ever gone camping. Not once. Ever.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden smirked at Tasha’s comments as he looked over at her, watching her slipping her skirt off. “Well, you don’t have to go disrobe and fly around if you don’t want to. It’s why I was asking.” Jaeden said before his hand reached out, giving Tasha’s rear a soft squeeze as she was just pulling her skirt up over her head. “And I’ve got plenty of excuses to see a woman naked. I’m a male being the number one excuse. This time, however, I really do wish you will survey the area from overhead for me. But be sure to come back safe.”

As Tasha began to fly off, Jaeden’s gaze once again fell to Aella as she responded to his words and request. He gave a quick little nod to her. “Sorry, sorry. Once he’s thoroughly pleasured you, I’ll give you some more after to make it up to you.” Jaeden replied quaintly as if such were normal conversation between Aella and him. “Just keep your eyes open out there, I know you hate it when I save you.”

Jaeden slowly looked down to Red then, who gave a little bark and then moved out into the woods to start what Jaeden had asked without another sound. Jaeden smirked a little, giving a quick nod. “Well, I’m surprise she didn’t make a witty comment to me. Either she feels two of them doing so is enough for now, or she’s waiting for that right moment.” Jaeden said before looking over at Malia now. “I had presumed as much after first meeting you, but figured coming out and saying such would be sort of poor etiquette. Good to know you have some skills for the wild though. Makes my groups and my job a little easier. Let me know if you had any questions though.”

Finally, Jaeden looked to Stitch as he asked his questions with an almost hesitant voice. “The fire pit will be for us, Stitch.” Jaeden commented as he rested his woodsman axe along his shoulder, slipping his other arm around Stitch’s back. “We’re in the process of making camp. A fire will be needed for warmth as well as cooking any meat we get today from our hunt or trapping. Thirdly, it keeps most of the wild animals away from camp. See, as pretty as that community shelter is over there, I won’t be staying in it myself. I’ll be honest as to why as well.”

Jaeden them motioned towards the tent with his woodsman axe, neglecting the fact that Stitch was blind. Whether he did this out of simple habit, or some other reason was uncertain. “That place was simply built and left. Its purpose in nice and noble, giving travelers a place to crash in their journey, but in that aspect lies its flaw as well. It’s a box with only one door. No locks. No guards. No security what so ever. Anyone can just walk in, and we have nothing to really barricade and secure the door with for security’s sake.” Jaeden explained, lowering his axe to his side now. “Even if we did, someone who had ill intent for those who are staying there could just set the place on fire if they can force their way in. It’s a hot spot for bandits and slavers to watch. Almost like bait someone else laid out for them to take advantage of. Most who will stay in there are those with no skills for the wilderness, and in that aspect, likely no skills to protect themselves either. It's even a possibility that some such individuals have already laid out some traps inside. You can stay in there if you want, but I’d prefer you crash out here at the camp. It’s why I suggested you get a tent in the first place. Tents are small, made of fabric. If we need to escape them for any reason, but can’t get out through the front, the fabric of the tent itself can be cut or turn easily enough to make a new exit. In the end, if trouble comes, I don’t feel like being potentially trapped in a wooden box. Do you?”

Jaeden then looked at Stitch’s cloak, tugging on it a little in mock inspection. “Well, it’s only a suggestion that you take off the cloak Stitch. You don’t have to in the end,” Jaeden said as he began walking towards the center of the clearing, “but, as I said, you should begin building up a tolerance to the cold. As cold as it is here now, it’ll be three times colder when we hit the Northern Reaches. The quicker you start getting used to the cold, even here, the less it will be a hindrance up there. I’m not suggesting keep it off until we cross over to the Northern Reaches of course. Rather, slip it off, take as much of the cold as you can before slipping it back on. Sort of like building an endurance in training, if you will.”

Jaeden then slowly dropped his gaze to the ground, holding the woodsman axe idly in both hands now. He took a quick inhale of breath as he raised the axe above his head before heavily swinging it to the ground. The blade of the axe buried itself deeply into the cold ground with a heavy “thud,” breaking up the earth. Jaeden then quickly raised it again and repeated the process again, his muscles being worked out slightly with each swing. In a way, doing such was still a physical form of training for Jaeden, and he did such religiously every day he was out in the wilds. Finally he looked to Stitch, getting set to take another swing. “You can come over the spade there, dig out the loose dirt, when we get it about a half foot deep, that should be enough. We'll collect firewood after. If we're lucky, there will be some pre-cut already at the shelter from the last visitor.” Jaeden instructed before looking to Malia. “So where have you been to in your travels?”

Jaeden had asked such of Malia for two reasons in the end. One, it allowed him to get to know who he was traveling with a little better. If he had known where an individual’s been in their life, he could have a slight idea of what they’ve encountered, giving him an estimate of their real experience especially in terms of Wilderness Survival. Secondly, a little idle chatter helped break up the monotony of the grunt work that was involved in setting up camp. If there were a few people working, and none of them said anything, then the work would seem to just stretch on for what felt like bells. A little chit-chat made things go along much more smoothly.

[Tasha]

Tasha stopped not to far nor after a long while, from where she did heard some sounds coming down the near gathering of trees.Flapping her wings once again, made her way through the small forest searching for a good landing spot, as the sound become much more louder and looking down, as passing by a taller tree, a pond was right there.Water she thought. She was lucky enough to find water in the area, even thought her senses told her something was wrong, but wasn't exactly sure what exactly.However, decided to get near the area with the water landing on a crack, just around the middle of the tree.Somebody did told her that life can always be seen with other eyes and yet, with the same heart if she truly believes in.Things can never be easy or thought either, but for certain you for yourself must make it better no matter the costs nor the consequences.You must do what your heart says so, and the mind less, so it was told, as of course maybe in the end it may be wrong but you'll never know until you do it. Tasha only wanted to do the right thing, just sometimes the effects are in reverse or as if she is going backwards and does not the good to happen.Landing at the tree's edge, she returned at her human form double checking the area with her green eyes, and slowly walking on the cold grass, without clothing trying to get near the pond. "Ok, this was a bad idea..cold as ice.I want to get soon over this, I will blame Den for if I catch a cold, or better I'll ask him to give me extra clothing.Or perhaps, I can manage to get a hug.Nah..not possible." said more to herself, stepping on the ground and wincing at the cold yet feeling when a sneeze broke the silence in the area.Some of the tree's leaves moved, with some small birds flying away from there.For a moment it was silence, just as soon the wind begun to blow making some ruffle around the trees and some tiny bushes, yet some rocks were at a far distance, as Tasha got to the water.She reached out above it to take some, letting the leather object to be filled with the cold, yet essential liquid. "Come on already..I'm freezing over here.being with no clothes, sure it can get nasty and dangerous in the same time.Sometimes, I swear I wish I'd have some fur." spoke again, with her eyes gazing around.The place was unfamiliar, but in the same time seemed as if she was there before.After the water was put in the right place, Tasha made a turn with her body standing up this time hearing some sounds, which resembled human voices.She titled her head to the right, brushing the hair from the cheek and made a few steps to where she did heard the voices, couldn't get the idea of them being there close or at a further distance.I really wonder from where those voices are coming from, or am I hearing it wrong?It can't be true, should I go and check, just for a bit..I can go as high as I can and if the tree's keep go like this, better for me.gave a thought.Still, something told her that she did had to find out what was that all about.Maybe it wasn't such a good idea, as soon she did turned to her Kelvic form and flew from there.

[Aella]

Aella paused once again, light eyes wandering over the area until she found a large stick that could serve as a stake to her trap. A nearby rock was grabbed to be used as a make-shift hammer, pounding the stake into the ground so that it wouldn’t break loose due to a struggling animal. She took out a piece of the short rope from her pack. It wasn’t a very utilitarian cord meant for hauling or pulling her own weight; she had it exactly for the purpose at hand, which meant that it was much thinner and corded to retain its shape better. One end was tied around the stake. On the other end, she moved to make a loop, twisting the bottom of it to form yet another smaller loop that would fit about the head of her intended prey. Carefully, she folded up everything properly before positioning it over the expected path the animal would follow, setting it with the care she’d learned to be important over time. Next would be the barriers, which would force the rabbit directly into the snare. She took sticks, forcing them into the ground to make fences along the path worn down by repeated movement – Taking care to make the path larger at the beginning and smaller as it got nearer the snare. Another swipe of mud was passed over everything, doing her best to cover what scent she’d not already masked. It was then off to set another snare, repeating the same steps. Then the next and the next. The longer she put off going back to camp, the better off she’d be if only because she was rather enjoying being alone. Eventually though, she’d run out of places to set traps within a distance she knew Jaeden would be comfortable with her going. There was a tiny pause as she realized what went on in her own head. Her face screwed up in distaste at the thought of doing something simply because it would upset Jaeden otherwise… But in the end she started her walk back towards camp. She’d have to go check the traps soon enough anyway.