A Healing Mission

[Terayne]

The coolness of the day had left a fine mist in the air, and had also attracted a certain young man out of his dwelling in the Healers' Barracks and to one of the waterfalls. Seated there, he stared at the pouring curtain of water, with its dancing rainbows that were the namesake of the Weyr, and just considered it thoughtfully. His mind was wandering, and soon enough, it's normal preoccupation lately came up, the desire to fly, to soar on the back of one of the magnificent LifeWings, to be Linked to the creature and help them heal in what almost seemed a magical way.

Sighing softly to himself, he laid back on the ground and stared at the sky, watching and it wondering if he would ever have the chance to be in it, to have that dream come true. A low, rumbling chuckle echoed from him at the thought. He wasn't the greatest singer, for sure, so he'd have to learn if he ever DID Link, or else he would have his poor partner being ashamed of him!

[Jay Kitten]

Ahhh, the hunt... Thrilling, as most who enjoyed it's simple activity would tell you. But for this particular hunter, the prey wasn't simply a meal, it was a way of life. Tracking, climbing, following for hours, chasing, pouncing, then killing... It was a process by which this one lived, or died. If she didn't catch her prey, she would be forced to eat nothing, or maybe some berries or nuts if she was lucky enough to find some. The Southern jungles held many fruits but not very many that weren't poisonous to humans.

But now she found that tracking what she had been for awhile now- a rather sizable flightless fowl, if she could tell by the tracks- was virtually nowhere to be found. And so, when she heard the sound of the waterfall, she figured it was a great time to stop, take a drink, have a break, and continue hunting by trying to find some different prey. The tracks she had found were likely too old, you see, so she wouldn't have been able to find much should she have continued to follow them, unless she wanted to sprint for quite a bit of time.

So she headed for the waterfall, and skirted it to see if there were any other creatures with her idea.

But to her surprise, as she parted the bushes, she found not an animal or creature, but instead, a man. She immediately ducked back before she could be seen. What was he doing here?! Who was he? He might be similar to that Cloudrider she'd found from the apparently nearby Weyr. But she had no idea if there was a dragon around or not. Certainly she couldn't hear one. She decided to make her presence known indirectly, and took a small rock...

And threw it at the man.

[Terayne]

He heard the bushes rustle and was immediately alert, knowing that the wilder areas of the Weyr were dangerous to humans. Sitting up, he looked around warily, then jumped back some when the rock came flying a him, ducking out of the way just in time. "What in Faranth's name!" he growled, standing instantly and reaching for the blade he normally kept on hand. Unfortunately, due to his Candidacy for a LifeWing, his knife had been confiscated, since Candidates were not allowed to carry weapons.

"Who's there!" he called, his tone holding the same wariness as was apparent in his stance, slightly lower to the ground, ready to fight should he need to.

[Jay Kitten]

His challenge rang out through the clearing of the waterfall, and Elraishsa couldn't help but feel as though she were toying with this man. She didn't know who he was, or why he was here, but she wanted him to go away so she could have her jungle to herself. And so it was decided she would try and scare him.

All at once she tossed her spear up, changed her hand, and threw it too, purposefully getting it as close as possible without actually hitting the man. She wanted to make him afraid so that he might run, and so far he hadn't seen her, a spear out of the blue seemed like the best way.

So the spear came sailing out of the bushes from nowhere, and impacted itself right in the soft soil near his feet. She grinned, her fanglike canines poking out a bit below her lip. Couldn't have made a better shot if she was closer.

She waited to see his reaction.

[Terayne]

Querin continued to watch the bushes, and when the spear abruptly sailed out, he leapt backwards, managing to avoid both falling on his butt AND falling in the water at the same time. Okay, this was Rainbow Mists Weyr. People did NOT carry spears around here! Frowning, he scanned the forest, eyes intent as he tried to pick out the person who had thrown first the rock, then the spear.

He was highly tempted to call the unseen assailant on what he saw as cowardice, not wanting to come forwards and face him directly, but he didn't know what else they might have on hand. So instead he padded forwards and curled his hand around the butt of the spear, pulling it from the ground and easily swinging it level, then up straight, the butt end now resting on the ground rather than the bladed one.

"I don't know what you think your game is," he called, "but it won't work." He'd dealt with worse torment in his life than someone trying to scare him while hiding in the bushes.

[Jay Kitten]

She frowned as he seemed unphased by her deliberately off attack, and instead she found it was only bolstering his willingness to stay. She wasn't really in the mood for a conversation, though, so just coming out and expecting him to give back her spear wasn't going to cut it. With an inward sigh, she crept around in the bushes, making little rustling noises here and there as she went, circling about the area until she came back near the waterfall on the other side. She was close to the water now, and maybe if she waited until he wasn't looking, she could steal some off before he caught her?

If he was from Rainbow Mists like the Cloudrider had been, she didn't expect to be stabbed without proper reason, but never the less she was guarded, as she didn't even know who he was. But she waited for his eyes to drift away from her spot, before she carefully moved from the bushes, coming close enough to the water to dip a hand in and carefully drink from her palm. She repeated the process of course, all the while hoping she wouldn't be caught.

Getting her spear back, though... Now that was going to be harder.

[Terayne]

His gaze followed the rustling noises, but when he lost them, he went still, tense, but ready at the same time to react if he should be threatened again. Ears listened, straining to catch the smallest noise, but he heard nothing, nothing save for the waterfall's thundering at his back and the breeze whistling through the trees and bushes ahead of him.

A frown touched his lips as he examined the spear, going over it carefully. He was a Healer, not a weaponsmith, but he could recognize the work that had gone into it. A little rough, maybe, probably handmade by its owner, but nonetheless. And it obviously did what it was supposed to, for he could just barely make out small traces of blood on the hilt under the blade that the owner had missed while cleaning it.

All in all, a fine weapon for what it had been designed to do.

[Jay Kitten]

The girl knew her spear was quite worthy of being a weapon, after all, it had taken her nineteen Turns to get the craftsmanship skill to make it. It was her newest one, after her last had broken during a hunt when she had encountered a beast that she hadn't known what it was, but it certainly had wanted to eat her, and she hadn't let it. In the process, though, she had lost her spear.

So she had made that one. And it was much nicer.

Which was why she wanted it back.

So when she had her fill of water, she looked over at the man, still crouched as she was by the pool. Her filed nails dug into the dirt between her bent legs, as she thought about the best way to get it back. Honestly, she saw no other alternative besides either taking it directly, or waiting to see if he left it here, and she wasn't up for the second one.

So, since he was so concerned about the spear, she began to creep closer, stepping silently on the soft soil as she snuck up behind him. She was getting closer...

[Terayne]

He felt her before he heard or even saw her, and he he wheeled, bringing the spear point down and pointing it directly at her. "Hold on there," he said firmly, eyeing the young woman before him. She looked... Feral. That was the only word that came to mind, with her pointed teeth and almost claw-like nails. Who knew HOW long this woman had been hiding out here, unknown to the Weyr at large.

"Who are you?" He didn't want to hurt her, but he would if he had to, and he made that clear, his stance relaxed, obviously not COMFORTABLE with the spear, but not afraid to use it either to defend his life.

[Jay Kitten]

She hadn't been too hostile beforehand, but as soon as he suddenly whipped around on her, she snarled, staying back for a moment before he questioned who she was. Rather than answer, she reached forth, wrapping a hand around the end of her spear and yanking it. She was incredibly strong, for a female of her age, and so she was sure she'd get it back simply by pulling it swiftly from his hands. Whether or not he let go was another question, and she made sure to pull it close just in case she needed to claw his face off.

Once she had her spear back, though...

"Not your business," she said, her words unexercised and slightly accented. She stepped away from him, looking him over cautiously. She should be the one asking questions. After all, this wasn't a Weyr. This was her jungle.

"Why are you here?" Elraishsa questioned, a simple sentence to be sure.

[Terayne]

He released it easily, hoping to set her off balance, then just watched her, knowing he may have made a mistake giving it up. However....

When she refused to give her name, dark eyes narrowed at her, and he looked her carefully up and down, assessing her with care, before meeting her gaze again. For her question, his lips quirked, and he cocked his head slightly, brown hair dancing freely about his shoulders. "Not your business," he replied evenly, his tone belying the spark of impishness that gleamed in his eyes.

[Jay Kitten]

Elraishsa narrowed her own eyes, but for some reason decided she liked his answer to her question. He at least had a brain, she could tell, and although he had tried, her balance was largely unaffected by his letting go. She sized him up once more. Not as small as the Cloudrider... But he wasn't a dragonrider, was he?

Her golden-like eyes now held a certain glow of curiosity, however of course, she turned that spear back on him, and pointed it right for his chest.

"I ask the questions," she stated, her brow furrowing now. "Why are you in my jungle?"

[Terayne]

He wasn't the least bit surprised when the weapon was turned back at him, but all he did was cross his arms over his chest and cock his head once more. "YOUR jungle?" he inquired curiously. There was no trace of fear, just a calm curious expression that swept around them, then settled back on her.

Who was this woman, to try and claim this place as her own? As far as he knew, Rainbow Mists had been here since long before this girl was born.

[Jay Kitten]

She nodded, looking quite serious as he asked that question, and she poked him in the ribs with the spear.

"Mine."

It was more true that she was the jungle's, rather than the jungle being her's, but that was how she viewed it. Her jungle. She lived there, all her life, and why would any of these people be welcome? They were from some random Weyr out in some clearer part of the foliage, they weren't a piece of the jungle or a part of the wild. But she, was.

She had to wonder why, though, why these people from Rainbow Mists never feared her for more than a few seconds. They sure seemed like a level-headed bunch. It was like they knew she had no intention of killing them unless provoked. Hmmm... She should work on her intimidation factor.

[Terayne]

Querin considered that for a long moment, then shrugged. "If you say so." He then looked past her back towards the Weyr, then glanced up at Rukbat. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to be getting back."

It was said simply, and he moved around her and back towards the pathway back towards the Weyr before she could respond. Just before he reached the arching vines that marked it though, he turned his head slightly and looked at her. "You need to be careful. You may know this jungle, but that doesn't make it any less dangerous." He then turned and continued on, knowing she could easily put that spear in his back, but fairly sure she wouldn't. Not entirely, just fairly.