PM to join Catching a Scent [Akasja]

[Sorael]

9th of Summer
Midmorning
516 AV


Sorael sniffed the air, tilting her head ever so slightly to catch the scent. It was frustratingly difficult to identify smells in human form but not impossible. And horses are not exactly subtle in their scent or sound. Thin coppery eyebrows furrowed as the woman swore an oath under her breath. Horses only meant one thing this close to the road: others.

The Kelvic readjusted the badger skins slung over her shoulder as she considered what she ought to do. Slip into the forest and leave the pelts behind to avoid confrontation. Or stick to her initial plan and cross the road with the threat of running into the horse and owner. Her thin nose twitched in irritation as she scanned the seemingly calm forest around her. It was another five yards or so to the road and she couldn't tell how far away the equine was yet.

Gripping the skins a little tighter the woman decided to take her chances. The pelts would fetch a nice price in the city and she needed new boots. Wiggling her toes in the confines of the offending shoe Sorael frowned, feeling the worn leather push against her flesh until her toes made contact with the rip. The boots would be intolerable come winter.

"Bullocks," she muttered to herself, parroting a term used by other humans when a situation was unfavorable. Perhaps this horse and rider would take one look at her in her over-sized tunic, frayed trousers and ancient boots and take her for a simpleton. That would be preferable. Actually, she countered, not seeing a damn person or horse would be preferable. And possible. Willing to take the risk the Kelvic drew her shoulders back and set her face in what she hoped to be a preoccupied expression that did not invite conversation and set off on her original path, nearing the road with each step.

[Akasja]

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Akasja had lived almost a full season without entering the city of Syliras, and she wasn't yet set on visiting it. It did not offer much that she, at this point, couldn't attain herself, and it would be full of strange people. She would have to build new relationships, and there was the chance that she would ultimately leave those people behind- or they would leave her. She recalled the Drykas she had come to call friends and sighed. Their time together had ended. It was not a good or bad thing, but it had been necessary. Now Akasja found herself biding her time before colder weather would force her into the city.

Finding a familiar and well-worn path, Akasja steered her horse onto it mindlessly, knowing exactly where it would take her. She was becoming increasingly familiar with these woods and how she could survive in them. The more she watched the wildlife, the more she knew what the plants provided, where the water ran, and where the animals traveled. In fact, aside from the occasional threat of violence or danger, she was beginning to like this place.

After several chimes riding along the path, it began to look more like a shoddy road. This would take her close to the farms outside of Syliras, a location Akasja was rather interested in. It was not likely that she would visit there tonight, but she would instead set up camp in a clearing. She tensed at the sudden memory of the strangely concealed Eypharian that she had almost come to blows with. Akasja began compulsively searching the area around her with one hand, her sensitive fingers able to pick up the slightest movement as long as it was not too far off. It was not long before she felt something approaching the road steadily, and so slowed her horse's pace in anticipation.

A small woman with red and blonde hair, dressed in somewhat baggy clothes, appeared along the road. It looked as if she were going to cross it, and so Akasja stopped her horse so as not to collide with the woman. As the woman reached the road, Akasja noticed that she carried some fine pelts with her. She wondered where she had found these animals, or if she had the skill to hunt and skin them herself. A spark of interest alighted in Akasja's mind. She had to speak up.
"Excuse me," she began courteously, not sure if the woman even spoke Common. "You hunt those animals alone?"

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[Sorael]

Sorael met the road in time to nearly collide with the horse, the Kelvic pulling up short as she eyed the beast suspiciously. Horses were among her least favorite creatures, mostly because they smelled horrendous and had fickle temperaments. Not unlike cats. Back peddling a step to avoid an errant hoof or nasty swipe of teeth the woman's eyes raised from the equine to its rider.

The lady perched atop the horse was foreign both manner and appearance, which was cause for care. Grey eyes surveyed the woman for signs of hostility. She was cloaked in the scent of the horse (which didn't do much for her in Sorael's eyes), though she bore faint hints of smoke, meat and other humans. Nothing to suggest danger but the fox had been wrong before. Sorael was ready to scurry off the road and be on her way when the rider addressed her. Tawny eyebrows rose as the woman's accented Common indicated she was curious in the pelts. The Kelvic's ability to determine inflection was still lacking and she often had to focus on the way words were pronounced to gather the intent. After a moment of processing the fox glanced down at the skins before looking at the foreign woman.

"Aye," she replied cautiously, readjusting the badgers as she found the words she wanted. "They's little bastards, though. Fiesty, y'see. Can't much chase 'em. Burrowin' and snarlin'."

She had a slow measured manner of speech though her face lit up substantially as she spoke of the pelts. Pausing for a moment, Sorael tilted her head, considering the nature of this woman and her foul smelling transportation.

"Y'want one?"

[Akasja]

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Akasja listened intently as the small woman began to speak. Her accent was unusually thick, a strange dialect, and it was hard to understand her. But the woman seemed pleased as she spoke, and it put Akasja at ease. Her seat atop her horse gave her an excellent view of her surroundings; nothing seemed amiss or dangerous. Maybe this would be a good time to dismount.

But right before Akasja could move to slide down from her horse, the red-haired woman spoke again.
"Y'want one?"
Now this question Akasja understood, although it took her a second to register the words. She let a gentle smile pull at the corners of her lips.
"Yes, please. I want one," she responded, then decisively dismounted her black Desertbred. Now on the ground, Akasja could see the real difference in their heights and statures. The woman before her was shorter, but appeared sturdy and capable. Akasja's expression was friendly, but a curious raise of her brow was meant to lure in the red-headed woman.
"But...I want to know...where you find them? And how you kill them?" Akasja motioned to the short-spear that she had strapped to her back. "This good?" It would be long enough either to throw a short distance or, potentially, to jab into a badger's den. The red-haired woman before her seemed to be a competent hunter and didn't seem to be lying about having killed the badgers herself. There was no pomp in her speech, only a matter-of-fact recognition of her work. Life in the wilderness was easier when it was not lived alone. Akasja wondered what the woman was willing to share.

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[Sorael]

Sorael cocked her head as the woman dismounted from her overly large and smelly equine, whose smell the fox could not help but twitch her nose at. Admittedly a little on edge now that pupil-less lady now shared her space there was calm demeanor emanating from her and her smile proceeded to put the Kelvic (moderately) at ease. It took her a tick to register the words beneath the foreign accent but once she did her brow furrowed slightly. She wanted a pelt. Sorael hadn't processed them for market yet.

"Where I find them?" a smile piqued across the Kelvic's lips as she brushed a strand of hair from her eyes with a free hand. "In their dens, 'course." Her tone implied she thought the woman was daft. Where else would a badger be?

"I give you one for..." she paused, doing painful calculations in her head before returning her attention to the Chaktawe and offering another smile. "Two Miza. I charge four t'five at market, I do." She hoped the foreign rider would appreciate her generosity. Sorael thought for a moment about the other questions posed to her, readjusting the pelts on her shoulder.

"I kill them quickly," she answered matter-of-factly. "They can be... snappy. Grumpy nasty varmints, y'know?"

Her Common was poor and her ability to be anything but transparent even poorer. Sorael tried to get an appraising look at the weapon the woman indicated to but it was obscured on account of being strapped to her back. Returning her gaze to the taller female the fox gave a half-hearted shrug - a behavior she mimicked from humans in Syliras and the Outpost, which she guessed indicated indifference or uncertainty.

"It'll do the job, I s'ppose. You'd have t'hit the bugger awful hard though."

[Akasja]

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There was something about this woman that Akasja found rather delightful. She had a sort of humor and lightheartedness to her manner and way of speaking that Akasja appreciated. In some ways, it was not apparent if the woman actually meant to be funny, but Akasja liked her nonetheless. As long as she didn't sprout a couple more pairs of arms and start speaking in Arumenic, Akasja was fine to deal with whatever uniqueness a person could bring her.

While Akasja did have a few Miza on her, she didn't want to have to rely on buying pelts from others. She wanted to be able to hunt the creatures herself. Listening attentively, Akasja nodded after the woman's proposal and somewhat vague explanations of badger hunting. She did make it seem rather simple to kill them. But finding a badger den, especially in woods like these, seemed like it was slightly beyond Akasja's skill set. She was not sure exactly where to start looking for their tracks or markings. Give her the desert any day, and she would be fine. These woods were still not totally familiar to her.

Akasja smiled again in contemplation. "Tell me what you think," she began. "My idea." Shifting her pack around, Akasja pulled out her coin purse to remove five Miza, paused, and then decided upon a coin of ten Miza. It was a lot to offer right off the bat, but truthfully Akasja was not spending her money these days. She had a lot saved up from her work in the traveling city and did not mind spending a little more boldly where boldness was needed. Plus, a lone woman hunter, much like herself, might need the extra coin. Akasja then repacked her purse. She held the Miza in her hand before the woman.
"I pay you ten Miza now for one fur...and you show me where-" Akasja realized she didn't know the Common word for badger -"those animals are. How to find them. That is what I want to know."
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