A Day on the Trails [Open]

A day of ranging for T'Shura of Ajteire

Home to the wildest breeds of flora, Ninraih's entangled jungles cover southeastern Khy'eras. Ajteire, city of the Fae, is situated in the middle. Here, an overwhelming amount of magic and unexplained phenomenon has materialized. Read more...
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TShura
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A Day on the Trails [Open]

Post by TShura »

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.
Word count: 813
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Re: A Day on the Trails [Open]

Post by NPC »

(OOC Note: I did a small action with Kesela at the end. If that's not okay, let me know and I can alter it!)

---

"T'Shura.. T'Shura..."

The voice guided her through the trees and called out, words drawing into a low hissing sound. Her echoed name faded into the wind, a sound so unnatural that T'Shura would have a difficult time believing it was any Kerasoka or Fae from the Ajteire. No, this was something else - ethereal and part of the forest itself. As eerie as the voice might have been, it was able to coax T'Shura forward into a shaded grove. There the trees buckled towards the center of the grove, leaves and branches reaching to entwine and form an umbrella over an area that let no light in. This canopy was so low that even at T'Shura's short Elven height, she would have to bend slightly to enter. At the far end, three trees pressed tightly against each other, their branches embracing.

Despite the darkness, a face began to materialize in the thick trunk of the middle tree. This face was Human or Fae-like, but blended in with the bark of the tree as if the visage wanted to camouflage itself. It would become apparent as the cracked and wooden lips opened to speak that this was no Druid or Elemental trying to play tricks. There was life emanating from the tree, but it struggled against the constraints of its wooden prison as it finally spoke and delivered the Kerasokan woman a message.

"Such knowledge... of the jungles around you, T'Shura... but not much knowledge about friends...."

The voice began to wither and crackle, breaking up as the being finished its message.

"Be wary... Not all sources of rivers are pure... and certain poisons have already... run their... course..."

As the voice faded, water pooled at the bottom of the tree and then traveled in a stream across the ground, darkening in red and black muddy colors as it passed by T'Shura's feet. The liquid flowed past her until the presence of a body nearby made the water and the face in the trees flicker away and out of existence as if the imagery was never there. The umbrella of trees bloomed upward and unfolded, showing patches of sky and making it so T'Shura no longer had to duck. From beyond the trees, Kesela stepped into the grove, her brows furrowed in confusion at T'Shura.

"Just who were you speaking with?"
Word count: 415
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TShura
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Re: A Day on the Trails [Open]

Post by TShura »

(OOC: Quite alright! Thank you:))

*****************************************
As the voice, faces and water disappeared T'Shura stood with her head down slightly as she pondered what she had heard and saw. The first pronouncement was fairly clear...the spirit of the tree felt that she needed to socialize more but what was with the poisoned water? Was it speaking of actual water or the nature of people? She almost jumped out of her boots when Kesela's voice startled her out of her reverie.

T'Shura looked up and around to see if the faces in the trees were still there. "I don't know," She murmured. "I was following voices that I heard in the trees. They led me here." Suddenly her gaze sharpened as she looked at Kesela."How did you elude me? Have you been working with Inya again?"

Kesela grinned at T'Shura,"Wouldn't you like to know?" She teased. "Come on let's head back." She turned and deftly led the way out of the copse of trees.

The two women easily ghosted off into the trees and while they travelled Kesela began to show T'Shura some of the tricks she had used to lose the other woman in their tracking contest.

*********************************

The two women were only about an hour out from the elven stronghold when as they rounded a particularly dense thicket of trees, entwined with vines, they saw a group of three undead who were grouped around the corpse of a dead animal.

"Oh gross!” Kesela cried which caught the attention of the disgusting trio who looked up toward the two elven women. It wasn’t apparent that they could see as their eyes were glazed white, but they could smell them as all three lifted their heads and sniffed in their direction.

T’Shura noted the ears on the trio and realized that two of them had been elves and one human by their shape. Their clothing, or what was left of it was ripped to rags. The trio immediately rose and moved toward the two women.
Word count: 337
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Re: A Day on the Trails [Open]

Post by Loxiel »

Much to Mistress Karla's frustration, Loxiel had gone from simple wanderer to full on explorer of the jungles. No longer did he fly back to the city on a night, but as his training under the expert eyes of Inya and the man at the practice grove, the young Changeling had grown a confidence that allowed his excursions into the dense forests to be more than mere jaunts; now he would sometimes spend two, maybe three, days out in the wilds.

In hiss animal forms, he could easily hunt for food (well ... most of the time), and there was always fruit to be found if one knew where to look.

It was during one of these trips into the jungle that he had a chance encounter ...

Through the eyes of his cat-form, Loxiel had been stalking the undead trio for some time. Two of them stood taller than the others. Loxiel guess the two might have been elves; it seemed likely. The other could have been anything. He hadn't risked himself to get too much of a closer look. Stalking them, to Loxiel, was simply another training exercise. He kept his distance, using his cat-form's innate ability to walk silently through the forest to track his targets. If they happened to notice him, he could take to the skies fairly quickly and be off. His main reason was imply to see which was they were going.

When the trio of monsters had come across a rotting carcass, Loxiel had had lowered to his stomach on a thick tree branch a feet up, and watched. If he had been in his usual form, disgust would have been written all over his features. As a cat, he could simply let out a small rumble to signify the assault on his senses.

'Well, it looks like they aren't heading towards the city,' He thought. 'Plus I'm tired.' He yawned, his sharp fangs catching the sparse light through the canopy. But his head quickly turned as two new figures stepped into his view.

Elves ... He recognised Kesela. She had seen the Elf break her fast with Inya a few times. The other, he did not recognise. He rose slowly, wondering what he should do. No doubt they would be able to handle the undead better than he, but there were three of them, and he couldn't account for the stranger's skill ... though no doubt it would be beyond his own. But he could do something!

A distraction ... maybe that could work ... or get him killed ... or work. Mentally, he shrugged. 'I guess there is only one way to find out.

The cat's muscles contracted, and he tensed. Just as one of the undead's head started to turn, Loxiel's cat-form leapt from the branch.

What he did would leave him feeling a bit weak, but he had to do something! As he dropped from the tree, Loxiel shifted, right back into his regular form. The Changeling, with his dagger in hand, dropped atop the undead elf, driving his dagger into the shoulder of the monster, rolling away as it gurgled out a roar.

Loxiel rolled back, coming closer to the two elves. He was grimacing at the black ichor dripping from his dagger, and glanced up. "Fight or run?" He asked, breathlessly.
Word count: 549
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TShura
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Re: A Day on the Trails [Open]

Post by TShura »

T'Shura and Kesela had been standing stunned at the sight of the lithe lynx looking wildcat that suddenly morphed into a boy. T'Shura blinked and swifter than thought pulled out her bow and strung it. Another heartbeat and an arrow shot through the air to pierce the closest undead.

Kesela, on the other hand, was trained with close combat and swiftly pulled her sword and charged in to the back of the one that the boy had pierced with his dagger. That undead stumbled to the ground. "Fight!" She shouted as with a spin her sword swung around and sliced into the third undead.
Word count: 104
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Loxiel
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Re: A Day on the Trails [Open]

Post by Loxiel »

As the trio engaged in combat, each with their own target, Loxiel realised he was not going to be able to take down his particular foe alone, and that the best he fould do was distract the monster while the two elves did their work, and could finally take down the undead, who was currently emitting a rusty-sounding roar at the boy.

As the arrow flew past him and struck the undead, it staggered back, thick black ichor oozing from the wound.

Kesela's target took the most damage, falling backwards, and then groaning in anger as the once-elf started to get back to his feet.

Loxiel dipped aside as his own assailant swung at him, trying to grasp the boy. Smoke enveloped the boy as he shifted into his hawk form, quickly taking to the air, 'keeing' out to the others as he dipped, talons extended and with frantical flapping of wings, sank them into the skin of the undead creatures face. The skin came away easy, and even in hawk-form, Loxiel could feel his stomach turn as he dropped the rotted flesh and flapped upwards again, out of the undead creature's reach. He circled around and dipped his wings, once again shifting on the move and driving his dagger into the upper back of his foe.

But the undead feel no pain, and the creature swung round, sweeping it's arms and hitting Loxiel square in the chest, sending the young boy flying off his feet and hitting the rough skin of a nearby tree. He was winded, and tired from the quick shifting; plus his dagger was was stuck in the creature's back, which was currently making it's way over to him ...
Word count: 283
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