A Day on the Trails [Open]
Posted: September 23rd, 2019, 11:48 pm
A Day on the Trails
It was still dark when the night sounds in Ajteire subtly began to change from the hoots and whistles of various nocturnal creatures to the squawks and screams of monkeys and early morning birds. The light of dawn had not begun to filter through the thick canopy top yet when a slight form slipped from a handwoven hammock and gathered up her gear before silently moving among the darkly silhouetted trunks that surrounded the inn area. Expertly she shouldered her bow and quiver while she buckled her belt, which held her hunting knife, around her tiny waist. Then like a ghost she vanished among the early morning mist in the trees.
********************************************************
The sun was filtering through the tropical trees and vines when the form of the lithe Elven female was seen briefly at the edge of a clearing near one of the watering holes. The young elf female was obviously one of the Kersokan elves of the region with teal green tinged hair and jade colored eyes that were never still as her sharp ears caught the various sounds of the wildlife around her. Even her small nose twitched as she scented the air while watching for danger as watering holes were areas that attracted many forms of life and not just the usual animals of the region.
A bird called from the fringes of the trees across from her and her gaze immediately went to the area of trees where the sound came from as she caught the slight movement of the greenery there. A Kersokan female stepped out from the fringes of the trees and T’Shura relaxed as she recognized another ranger from her group.
T’Shura raised a hand in greeting before she ghosted silently around the watering hole to join the other elf. It was Kesela, one who was of an age with T’Shura so had trained with her under one of the older Ranger mentors, Inya.
“Well met, Kesela."T’Shura said softly as she reached the other woman and they stepped back so that they were still screened by vines but were able to see the watering hole. Kesela was taller than T’Shura by half a handspan and was of a darker red coloring that was in bright opposite to T’Shura’s, who’s own blended well with the verdant jungle around them.
The other elven woman nodded in response to T’Shura’s greeting and asked,”Things have been quiet in the region lately, do you wish to do something fun today?" She asked with a mischievous twinkle in her nut-brown eyes.
“What?" Asked T’Shura eagerly as she loved a challenge and Kesela was known for her mischievous nature.
“Give me half of this 3rd hour and then follow me if you can!” Said the other ranger in challenge before she turned and vanished among the vines.
For the first few hundred strides, T’Shura was able to follow the other women’s passage as she quickly scaled a vine into the canopy top. Within a few heartbeats though all sounds of passage and moving greenery had stopped.
T’Shura smiled softly to herself as she eased back into the jungle more and counted the heartbeats until she would track her friend.
When the allotted time had elapsed T’Shura moved out among the trees looking for Kesala’s passing. She easily spotted the vine that the other ranger had used to scale to the canopy and followed her up, bright eyes looking for the tell-tale signs of bent leaves or a slight depressions in the moss to tell her which branches the other elf had gotten off onto to. It seemed that the other woman hadn’t made a concerted effort to hide her passage. Not from a skilled tracker at any rate.
As she moved farther along the trail though the signs began to lessen and T’Shura had to work harder at following the other ranger.
*************************************
The sun had passed its zenith when T’Shura took a break on one of the higher branches to rest. How had Kesala done it?? T’Shura hadn’t been able to find any signs of the other woman at all over the last hour. What signs she had found until then had been precious little and far between. Had Kesela been working with Inya again and been taught a few more tricks that T’Shura didn’t know?
Suddenly T’Shura’s head turned to the side sharply as the soft sound of voices echoed softly through the trees.
Who was there? Scouts and rangers wouldn’t make that much noise, not for her to be able to hear it this clearly in a dense jungle which usually muffled such sound.
T’Shura eased quietly through the trees trying to follow the sounds of the voice.
It was still dark when the night sounds in Ajteire subtly began to change from the hoots and whistles of various nocturnal creatures to the squawks and screams of monkeys and early morning birds. The light of dawn had not begun to filter through the thick canopy top yet when a slight form slipped from a handwoven hammock and gathered up her gear before silently moving among the darkly silhouetted trunks that surrounded the inn area. Expertly she shouldered her bow and quiver while she buckled her belt, which held her hunting knife, around her tiny waist. Then like a ghost she vanished among the early morning mist in the trees.
********************************************************
The sun was filtering through the tropical trees and vines when the form of the lithe Elven female was seen briefly at the edge of a clearing near one of the watering holes. The young elf female was obviously one of the Kersokan elves of the region with teal green tinged hair and jade colored eyes that were never still as her sharp ears caught the various sounds of the wildlife around her. Even her small nose twitched as she scented the air while watching for danger as watering holes were areas that attracted many forms of life and not just the usual animals of the region.
A bird called from the fringes of the trees across from her and her gaze immediately went to the area of trees where the sound came from as she caught the slight movement of the greenery there. A Kersokan female stepped out from the fringes of the trees and T’Shura relaxed as she recognized another ranger from her group.
T’Shura raised a hand in greeting before she ghosted silently around the watering hole to join the other elf. It was Kesela, one who was of an age with T’Shura so had trained with her under one of the older Ranger mentors, Inya.
“Well met, Kesela."T’Shura said softly as she reached the other woman and they stepped back so that they were still screened by vines but were able to see the watering hole. Kesela was taller than T’Shura by half a handspan and was of a darker red coloring that was in bright opposite to T’Shura’s, who’s own blended well with the verdant jungle around them.
The other elven woman nodded in response to T’Shura’s greeting and asked,”Things have been quiet in the region lately, do you wish to do something fun today?" She asked with a mischievous twinkle in her nut-brown eyes.
“What?" Asked T’Shura eagerly as she loved a challenge and Kesela was known for her mischievous nature.
“Give me half of this 3rd hour and then follow me if you can!” Said the other ranger in challenge before she turned and vanished among the vines.
For the first few hundred strides, T’Shura was able to follow the other women’s passage as she quickly scaled a vine into the canopy top. Within a few heartbeats though all sounds of passage and moving greenery had stopped.
T’Shura smiled softly to herself as she eased back into the jungle more and counted the heartbeats until she would track her friend.
When the allotted time had elapsed T’Shura moved out among the trees looking for Kesala’s passing. She easily spotted the vine that the other ranger had used to scale to the canopy and followed her up, bright eyes looking for the tell-tale signs of bent leaves or a slight depressions in the moss to tell her which branches the other elf had gotten off onto to. It seemed that the other woman hadn’t made a concerted effort to hide her passage. Not from a skilled tracker at any rate.
As she moved farther along the trail though the signs began to lessen and T’Shura had to work harder at following the other ranger.
*************************************
The sun had passed its zenith when T’Shura took a break on one of the higher branches to rest. How had Kesala done it?? T’Shura hadn’t been able to find any signs of the other woman at all over the last hour. What signs she had found until then had been precious little and far between. Had Kesela been working with Inya again and been taught a few more tricks that T’Shura didn’t know?
Suddenly T’Shura’s head turned to the side sharply as the soft sound of voices echoed softly through the trees.
Who was there? Scouts and rangers wouldn’t make that much noise, not for her to be able to hear it this clearly in a dense jungle which usually muffled such sound.
T’Shura eased quietly through the trees trying to follow the sounds of the voice.