Fantasy Hunters' Journey [Closed]

[Arialianna]

The world of Ratheos, a large sprawling continent of every landscape. There are thirteen provinces located within its shores, and no central government to rule them all. This story takes place on the eastern edge of the continent, within the province of Telora (8). The forest within is home to a secretive and reclusive wild elven tribe known as Akh'nelle. They are known for tattooing their accomplishments on their skin to serve as a walking testament to their deeds and feats.

The nearby towns include Maran (to the northeast), Yramor (to the east), Faer'draun (on the southwest edge of the forest), and the capitol city (to the southeast), Telora. Telora is a country full of humans and dwarves and other fantastic races, but wild elves keep their distance, and many other races refuse to dwell too far into the Darkwood, the more superstitious of the lot believing it to be haunted.

Links:
https://www.rpnation.com/threads/hunters-journey-ooc-chat.351784/
https://www.rpnation.com/threads/hunters-journey-characters.351785/

 

[This Is Me]

Ostracised from their own brethren, on the outskirts of a town called Maran, lives a human father, an elven mother and their half-elven son, named Thelonious. As a child Theolnious found great joy in spending his daylight ours within the shadows of the forest, but with a childhood spent away from other children his age, normal interactions with others were lost on him. Yet still, his mother and father proudly watched him grow into the strapping, yet slightly awkward, young man he is today.

As a young man, his family role is to provide for his parents in their old age. Thelonious' days are still spent within the forest, hunting for his family's table and to provide other necessities their little home may need. This day is just like all of the others as Thelonious gathers his bow, strapping his quiver across his back and slipping a knife into both his right leather boot and the sheath strapped to his waist. As he made to leave their small abode, he called to both his mother and father to bid them goodbye until later that day.

The day is bright, with a light summer breeze rolling across his family's little smallholding as Thelonious makes his way to the edge of the forest. The trees looming and casting a cooling shadow over him as he draws closer, the noises of the wildlife within becoming ever-present. His breathing picks up somewhat as his nerves towards his hunt start to surface. He'd always felt a bond with the wildlife, so taking such an innocent life would always take a gathering of courage on his part; but the need to feed his family was his driver.

Heading in to the forest, his footsteps carefully placed to minimise, as much as he physically could with his gangly frame, the crunching of twigs and leaves underfoot, Thelonious kept his eyes searching for the perfect target. It always takes him a fair amount of time to spot the perfect moment and the perfect animal to hunt, so after almost an hour it was no surprise that he still had nothing to take home to show for his work. With his nervousness and irritation starting to seep through his outer exterior more and more with each passing minute, Thelonious' footsteps start becoming less carefully placed, scaring away everything that could be a potential target; only adding to his irritation further.

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren stalked her target silently. She knew the movement of the wind, the way her scent carried away from her target and thus would not frighten the young buck. She moved like part of the forest, her footsteps timed with gusts of wind or other natural sounds so that, on the off chance her natural elven grace didn't completely silence her footfalls, something else would. In her right hand, she held her bow, keeping the weapon clear of any firm vegetation lest it snap a stick or twig and give her away. However her left hand held her bigger concern, for that is where she held three arrows. While she fully expected to down the animal with the first shot, it never hurt to have one or two more just in case something spooked the deer or if she happened to miss. She didn't miss often, but every once in awhile she would and silently condemn herself to harsher practice and longer hours training to prevent it from happening again.

It inevitably happened again every time, and then the circle went around again.

This time she could not afford to miss, this deer would be for the tribe, for those elven homes that didn't have a hunter bringing home food every day. They did not concern themselves with currency in her tribe, instead trading goods and services for goods and services. It was a nice little system, when she thought about it, but now was not the time for such concerns. The buck had just reached the edge of a stream, presenting her the perfect opportunity to move a bit closer. So she did, step by agonizing step she inched closer to her mark, eying the trees above her for signs of Venari'fera, her faithful hawk.

There, she spotted the noble raptor perched on a branch several trees in front of her, his eyes were fixed on her prey as he waited for her signal. Smiling slightly to herself, Aanor'Loren twirled one arrow into a ready position and gently nocked the arrow as she closed on her prey. If she was lucky, she might not need the hawk and could instead kill the buck with a single arrow. She stopped as the wind stopped, hoping her scent would not carry to the buck's location. After a second, the deer raised its head and seemed to sniff the air and she silently cursed her luck, but remained still, remembering her father had once told her that fear and desperation led to missed arrows and messy kills. She forced herself to remain calm, every muscle in her body coiled like a spring, ready for the slightest indication that she thought she might be able to take the shot.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious was aggravated. It had been over an hour and he still had nothing to take home to his parents yet, or to take to trade in the town. So, when he saw movement off to his right he knew he had to act. Slowing his movements and being more careful to quieten his footsteps, he made his way over to a clearing in which his target had stopped to take a drink from the nearby stream. A buck, and a young one at that stood gracefully, lifting his head every now and again to survey the surrounding area. Thelonious was in awe of the power and elegance radiating off such a young creature, but knew that this was probably going to be his only shot today to get something worth taking home and trading.

As slowly as possible he lifted his bow from across his shoulders, slipped an arrow from his quiver and nocked it gently in readiness. Being a fairly new hunter, Thelonious was not fully used to assessing his surroundings in great detail, and therefore as he lifted his bow and pulled back the string in readiness to take the shot, he missed the signs for the wind suddenly picking back up again. Taking a deep breath in, he held his arrow in place, the young buck in his sights, right before he let his breath out and let his arrow fly.

The outcome? A miss. The signs Thelonious had missed meant just as he'd let his arrow fly, the wind picked up once more and sent his arrow off at an angle. He missed his target completely, which led to the young buck being scared off by the noise and darting back into the depths of the trees. Throwing his bow back over his shoulder and grumbling under his breath about his stupidity and lack of experience, Thelonious stalked into the clearing in search of his arrow, which had perfectly killed a blade of grass.

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren heard the wind pick up before she felt it and smiled to herself and readied herself to take the shot. It was at that moment that she heard the faintest sound of a bowstring snapping forward. Instinctively she ducked, not sure where the arrow might come from and deciding she would figure out who had taken the shot after she came out of the encounter safely. She heard the arrow whiz past the buck, frightening her prey away. Had she known it was not aimed at her, she might have got the buck with a quick shot, but instead she swore under her breath as she watched the young deer flee. As she watched it bound off into the forest, she looked around for the source of the arrow and winced as she found it.

A young man was all but stomping through the forest towards the clearing, apparently looking for his arrow. Her eyes narrowed and she none-too-gently replaced the arrows in her quiver, her irritation at the ruined hunt getting the best of her as she met the man as he walked into the clearing.

She berated him in elvish, "If you're going to take a shot at my buck, at least hit the damn thing! And don't go stomping about the forest scaring off every beast in a one mile radius! How incompetent can a person be?" She finished by standing toe to toe with the man, who easily towered over her short slight figure, but she had all the frustration of her ruined hunt to lend her bravery to stand straight and glare into his eyes, demanding an answer or apology with her fierce green eyes. She would not back down, especially not when she had spent several hours tracking and finding this buck.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious' eyes widened as a small firecracker stomped through the clearing. He was quite taken aback by how small she actually was when standing toe to toe with him, but the fierce stare she sent in his direction made him feel half the size of her. His eyes dropped away from hers, slightly scared of the elven woman in front of him; he could tell because her ears were larger than his own, just like his mothers. As his eyes dropped, he spotted his missing arrow just off to the side of her, so he side-stepped her and bent down to pick it up.

Twiddling the arrow between his fingers, Thelonious took a deep breath before lifting his gaze back to face the fearsome woman. "I'm sorry", he spoke softly in broken elvish and common. He wasn't entirely sure how to handle the situation, having not been surrounded by normal societal interactions during his childhood. So, as odd as it may seem to others, he quickly shot his hand out in the aims of a handshake and rather awkwardly introduced himself, half broken in the elvish and common language, "I'm Thelonious, but you can call me Lone."

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren wasn't really expecting such a timid response, and wasn't quite sure what to do once his hand shot out to shake hers in greeting. She gave him a withering glare and refused to shake his hand, keeping her hands balled into tight fists at her side, the longbow still held in her right hand. After several seconds of awkward silence, she spoke again, this time using a broken common dialect that hadn't seen use from her since she was taught the language basics in her youth. "What wrong? You no speak elvish good?" She was aware her own rendering of common was a butchering of the language, and she struggled to think of the words she was trying to say, occasionally catching herself as she began to slip back to her native tongue. "Deer run when you miss. No try hit deer I...see. Understand?"

Without so much as waiting for his response, she let out a whistle that sounded an awful lot like that of a nightingale. At her call, Venari'fera swooped down to land on her outstretched arm. She softly cooed to the hawk, stroking his feathery neck with the back of a finger while speaking in elvish. "There now. We'll just have to continue the hunt tomorrow. Hopefully we can find something worth our while." she glanced back suspiciously at Thelonious, "Hopefully there are no amateurs out hunting tomorrow."

With a harrumph of indignation and pride, Aanor'Loren tilted her head up ever so slightly and turned on her heel to walk to the center of the clearing, tossing the hawk into the air as she did so he might hunt on his own for his supper. For now, she had this incompetent fool of a hunter to deal with, and she knew by a glance at him that he wasn't familiar with this area of the woods.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious hadn't quite expected such a response from the angry elven woman in front of him, especially with the lack of acknowledging his handshake and attempt to put things to rights. He sighed, awkwardly lowering his hand and his glance lowered to watch his feet shuffling in the grass below him. When the woman started speaking to him, he cringed, not at how she was saying things because his own use of language wasn't perfect, but at how she was talking to him. Then again it was very obvious he was only a 'half breed' and she clearly wasn't, so if he really thought about it, after the years of torment he'd gone through, her attitude towards him wasn't amiss. She could be a lot more cruel if she really wanted to.

Out of the corner of his vision he saw a hawk swoop down beside them, and his eyes widened as he lifted his gaze to watch this woman with such a powerful creature perched on her arm. Thelonious was slightly ashamed to admit it, but he gawked, completely in awe of the bond the two of them clearly had. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out and he shook his head trying to gather his jumbled thoughts.

When she turned her back on Thelonious and sent the hawk off into the skies once more, he started forwards, his hands still fiddling with the arrow in his hands. "U-Um..." He coughed slightly, clearing his throat, before he continued; slower than last time and concentrating on using mostly the elven language. "Could you, maybe, teach me how to not get in your way again? To hunt properly? Just, I've been out all day and have nothing to take home to my parents..." He trailed off when he finally felt the awkward atmosphere surrounding the little clearing.

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren sized him up with a scrutinizing look few elves could match. When it came to hunting, Aanor'Loren was the best her people had to offer, and she knew it. What took her by surprise now, however, was the lack of tattoos on this man. He said he hunted for his parents, but she knew not which elven couple had a son his age in training for a hunter's vocation. Perhaps her infrequent visits to the village had really hindered her knowledge of those who dwelt there. However, something was off. Thelonious was her age, or thereabout, and yet she had never seen him when she was learning and growing up. In addition to that, he hunted like an elf of a dozen winters, not two. She crossed her arms and pointed to the two lines below her right eye. At least now she knew he spoke elvish decently. "Where is your vocational mark? How did you get sent out alone at your skill level?" she made sure she emphasized that his skill was lacking.

She sighed at the shamed look on his face. She thought back to her own training and grimaced when she thought of how her father would react to her discourteous treatment of a stranger. She felt ashamed of herself and cleared her throat, speaking a bit softer and gentler. "My name is Aanor'Loren, huntress." she held her enclosed fist over her heart and bowed slightly, a warrior's greeting, as her father would have hunters greet others of the same trade. "If you truly wish, I can tutor you in addition to your lessons from the elders. However, do not presume to skip their lessons in favor of mine. I am not a teacher, and I likely won't be for many years, so I cannot vouch for your skills when your trial comes about."

She looked at him as she said this and frowned at the confused expression on his face. She wasn't sure what she said that could have been misinterpreted. The way that lessons went was a set in stone practice that he must have known about if he had grown up in her village.

Unless...he hadn't...

She looked him up and down again, "Are you one of the banished?" She asked, referencing those who committed crimes in the village and were summarily sent away with a week's provisions and told never to come back. If found, one of these banished returning to the tribe would be slain on sight, but she didn't see the mark of banishment on his left cheek, so she thought he was perhaps from a different tribe. However, she couldn't be too careful, and her hand slowly and discreetly reached for the handle of her kukri fastened to her belt at her lower back. In case he jumped at her for guessing his true nature, she would be ready to strike. The thought honestly terrified her. She had never slain a man before, and she wasn't particularly fond of the idea. But she knew if he attacked her, it would likely be a kill or be killed situation.

And she had no intentions of dying to a man that couldn't hit a deer holding still.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious had absolutely no idea what was going on. The words the elf in front of him spoke made absolutely no sense to him. Vocational mark? Elders? Trial? As a child he'd tried to learn as much about his ancestry from both of his parents; the elven side from his mother and the human side from his father. However, with how his parents family and friends had turned their backs on them, they were too ashamed of their own race to teach him the specifics. Therefore he'd spent his childhood with very little knowledge on the inner workings of what could have been his own communities, and with whatever this elven woman was talking about it was clear he knew even less than he thought he did.

The woman, Ana... Annor... Aanor-something, had obviously seen the confusion on Thelnious' face and in the midst of his confusion he'd missed how she'd pronounced her name. He knew it was a true elven name, because all of the names he'd come across in his brief meetings with them were ridiculously difficult to pronounce and over-complicated compared to the human names. Then he caught on to the question she'd just asked him. Banished? Thelonious chuckled awkwardly and raised his left hand to smooth his hair down around his smaller then elven and larger than human ears, feeling self-conscious that this woman would suddenly end up treating him differently. She was cold towards him already, he didn't want to make the situation worse.

His awkward chuckle died down and he dropped his hand, twiddling his thumbs together. "Not banished, exactly..." He paused, wondering how he could express that he didn't live in society properly without him outright telling her he was a half-breed. "I... My parents and I, well they... My parents chose to live outside of society, so that's what we do." His elvish was spattered with English words once again to his embarrassment and hoped she wouldn't catch on.

Instead, Thelonious tried to steer the conversation away from his living situation and held his hand out towards the elf again, speaking in his best elvish. "I believe we got off on the wrong foot so lets start over again." He cleared his throat and threw onto his face his goofy, lopsided smile, hoping to somewhat win over the elf in front of him. "I'm Thelonious, but please call me Lone. I, again, apologise for your loss of the kill, it was completely my fault. I would be honoured to have you as my teacher, Aanor..." And then he ruined it by completely forgetting the elven woman's name.

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren did her best to hide her frustration at having to mentally translate the common words he had mingled with elvish. She felt now more than before that she would need to teach this man how to hunt, especially due to the fact that his family likely lived in a secluded area, and had to rely on him for their hunting. She felt more than a bit ashamed at how she had treated him before. It was likely he didn't have any clue what he was doing because no one that raised him knew how to hunt. She could tell already he was struggling to maintain the fluid elvish language and decided to first slow down her speech to accommodate his lack of familiarity with the language. "Aanor'Loren." she said slowly. "Do not worry about the deer. What is done is done. When can you begin lessons?" She was eager to have him taught to fend for his family sooner than later, but didn't know what other obligations the man had.

As far as she knew, his parents could be sickly and bedridden, and she wouldn't dare deprive him of every moment he wished to have with them under those circumstances, due mainly to the fact that she herself missed out on many moments with her parents before they passed. With a subtle shake of her head, she pushed the painful memory back into the recesses of her subconsciousness. With a small smile she waited patiently for his answer.

 

[This Is Me]

This time Thelonious paid attention when the elven woman told him her name again. Aanor'Loren. He mulled over the name slightly, trying to commit to memory the way in which she'd pronounced it. Maybe, if he got taught by her and got to know her, he could find a way to shorten her name. Aanor'Loren just felt too formal for his kind of language. Aanor maybe. Or simply just Lo. That thought made him chuckle to himself silently; Lone and Lo.

Thelonious was slightly taken aback by the small smile that graced the young elven woman's lips, his own smile widening as he took in the way her green eyes seemed to brighten before his own gaze was drawn back to her lips again. "Now?" Was his reply in response to her question. "Unless you're done with being bothered by myself today? Or just whenever works best for you? If you're a huntress you must be quite busy? But then I could make up for the loss of your deer?" Thelonious had backtracked greatly, speaking slowly to ensure he spoke in elvish as much as possible, and with inflections in his voice that portrayed everything he said as a question. His right hand once again came up to scratch the back of his neck in embarrassment.

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren smiled even wider at his fumbling speech. In some ways, he reminded her of the children in her village and the way they tried to ask every question they could before she could answer the first one. "Well, Lone," she pronounced the new name as slowly as he pronounced hers, "I am not opposed to teaching you today, but know that we likely won't catch a deer for some weeks. It takes some time to learn the basics, but they are crucial to a successful hunter or huntress." She felt maybe she was laying on too much information at once and looked at him with an appraising look. "We'll start with basics. Can you build a fire?"

She felt that while certain things would help him become successful, nothing was as important as a fire to ward off the chill, or the wolves.

 

[This Is Me]

At Lo's reply, Thelonious felt as though, if he had been younger, he had would have wanted to jump up and down in joy. But, he was an adult now, and adults did no such thing; they were boring and straight-faced. Yet still, that feeling of happiness that brewed within him caused his grin to widen; stretching across his face and forming dimples in the sides of his cheeks. Ignoring the fact he couldn't make up to Lo the loss of her deer today caused a bubble of disappointment to well up in him, Thelonious couldn't help but nod his head eagerly to everything she was saying. After all, it made sense really; you had to start small in order to make something of yourself.

In response to this fiery woman's question, Thelonious was eager to impress her with his knowledge on fire making. His eyes glanced briefly around their surrounding area, searching for any wood that would be suitable to demonstrate his skill. "I can. I've been making fires for my home ever since I was small. I can demonstrate if you'd like, to show you I'm not lying." He chuckled to himself, letting his gaze fall down to Lo, his chuckle turning into a soft smile at the look on her face. If he didn't know any better, it would seem she was somewhat enjoying Thelonious' bumbling idiot tendencies.

Suddenly drawing his eyes away from Lo, he coughed awkwardly and started searching the clearing for the things he'd need. "Right, let me get started." He paused, some of his insecurities stepping in to replace his confidence. "Unless... Unless it's completely different making a fire out in the wild... Then I have no clue. I'd have thought the basics would be the same though..." He trailed off, a rose tint highlighting his freckled cheeks.

 

[Arialianna]

"It's similar," Aanor'Loren said, being slow and methodical in her speech as he searched for fuel. "The biggest difference is ensuring you don't burn down the forest around you. Of course, there's more to it but I'm sure you already know how to bank a fire and keep it burning through the night. You don't want to build it near dry vegetation. You want an open clear area. In addition, you'll need to have some means of extinguishing the flame quickly should something go wrong or some dark creature wander too close. After all, the deeper woods are said to be haunted." She laughed at the notion, but deep down she knew it was. She herself bore a scar from the claws of such a beast on her left leg. Of course she had caused quite an uproar that day when her village found out what had happened to her, but she never was one for rules and questioned or overstepped lines and boundaries frequently in her youth.

She had ventured too close to the heart of the forest and a dark fey, a creature of malice and claws, had spotted her. While she ran in terror, the phasing creature had caught up to her and grabbed at her leg. The rest of the memory was a blur in her mind, but she didn't venture near the heart now unless she had her kukri at her hip and her bow in hand. Next time, she had sworn, she wouldn't be the same helpless six year old girl.

She shook the distraction from her mind, looking up at Lone to see how he was faring with the fire.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious nodded his head along to everything Lo was saying, ensuring he took all the information in as his eyes roamed the clearing, searching for the perfect space. Across the other side there was a slight bald patch in the wild grasses, only visible when the wind blew in a certain direction. Once he'd reached the spot he flattened the surrounding grasses to ensure they wouldn't get caught in the flames of is fire, before setting about to constructing the base of his fire.

It took him a little while, but eventually he thought his bank would fair well enough and was just about to light it. However, Thelonious thought to look back towards Lo to get her approval and to see if he needed to make any corrections, so he wouldn't 'burn the whole forest down'.

Once turned back to find her, he stopped, his mouth slightly agape as he was about to speak. There was a far off look in her eyes, a look he couldn't quite place his finger on but he knew it wasn't a happy place she'd gone to. He spoke slowly in elvish for he felt making too much noise would spook her. "Are you okay Lo?" His eyes widened slightly and he coughed awkwardly once again. "Sorry, Aanor'Loren." He grinned sheepishly, his cheeks once again rosy, fiddling with one of the sticks in his hand.

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren met his gaze unflinchingly, knowing that any surprise would betray her inner doubts and thoughts. Instead she ignored the question entirely, "That seems a good enough place. Now I'd like to see you get a flame started." She let her gaze lift and scan the surrounding forest, trying to commit this area to memory, as she'd never been this close to the forest's edge before. In her mind, a perfect mental map of the forests she'd explored existed. She knew every landmark and every hill, but this river she'd never seen before. Curiosity got the better of her and she walked to the water's edge, leaving Thelonious to himself as she dipped a couple of her fingers into the water to test its temperature. Satisfied the cool water wasn't too cold, she dipped her hand in further, feeling the gentle current push against her delicate hand as a smile lit her face. There was nothing she loved more than the outdoors, and knowing the outdoors was her primary concern, a job she delighted in.

With a resigned sigh, she stood, reluctantly pulling her tattooed arm from the cool stream. She knew the tattoos by memory as well, for she had placed a few of them on herself, and they each signified an important moment in her life, though she kept a couple hidden beneath the simple clothing she wore. Now she gazed down at the flame on her right arm. It signified the first step she had taken towards survival in the wilds, building a fire that lasted the night. She had been eight years old, she recalled fondly, and it had been a messy fire, but she had done it, and since then she had only improved on the skill.

"Foot in the door," as her father would say, "strive to learn the basics, and the expertise will come with repetition."

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious mentally kicked himself when Lo chose to ignore his question. Of course she wouldn't answer such a question from a perfect stranger. Maybe one day she would, but after she'd just lost her a deer caused by his bumbling antics, personal questions was definitely a no-no.

He was just about to place his chosen bark into the notch and start spinning when he was distracted by Lo as she wandered off. There was a grace to her walk that must have come from years of practising, in order to not disturb the forest floor beneath her petite feet. Absentmindedly, Thelonious' hands started spinning, small wisps of smoke coming from the friction between the two pieces of bark. His gaze, however, was not on his hands but following Lo as she, not so much played with the water in the stream, but sort of enjoyed the feeling of the stream running over her hand as she took in her surrounding area.

Suddenly there was a spark from below Thelonious' fingers and he jumped back, startled from his observation of Lo. His hands worked quickly to let the flame light the rest of his strategically placed pile of wood. Slowly, the bark caught and his fire started burning properly. He looked towards Lo with a massive grin on his face. "How did I do?"

 

[Arialianna]

Despite herself, Aanor'Loren smiled back, glad at least that he had some of the more basic skills already. "That's good, let me see." She walked closer, ensuring now more than ever that she didn't make a sound as she nimbly stepped around every fallen leaf or stick. However, she did her best to make the movement natural, never deviating her footsteps very far from where they would naturally fall so as to make her silent approach seem even more innate. As she stepped up close to the fire, she looked about the area, searching for anything that would mark the fire as less than adequate. Suddenly she frowned and looked to the man beaming at her proudly, "What if you have to extinguish it quickly? What will you use?" She knew the answer she would have told someone asking the same question, but wanted to know what Thelonious thought would work best. While she waited, she crossed her arms over her chest patiently. Her face was an emotionless mask, the face of a teacher. She wanted him to learn, and she knew if he grew too complacent, he would no longer put forth the effort to learn. She had to be careful with her praise as well as her corrections. She wanted to encourage learning, but not complacency.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious should be used to the sudden change of someones attitude, after all he'd dealt with his elven brethren switching their demeanour's rapidly whenever he was within the vicinity. Yet, he wasn't and when he saw Lo's face switch from that sweet smile to a frown, he knew he hadn't completed the task properly. All his life he knew he hadn't even made the mark when it came to others of his kind, and failing at the first obstacle wasn't exactly spirit-lifting.

His own smile dropped from his lips, his eyes casting down towards his happily flaring fire as his rubbed a hand over his face. "I would..." He trailed off, completely unsure as to what he would do. His eyes glanced over to the stream, then flickered very briefly up to the domineering presence of Lo above him. "I guess I would use some of the water from the stream, and then stamp the rest out. But that's probably wrong, isn't it?" He spoke uncertainly, a slight waver in his voice and the lack of the happy tone he usually has.

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren's heart fell as the disappointment in his voice, so she kept her voice soft and shook her head slightly. "Normally that's a good way to do it, however in this case, I'd say dirt is the better option. Throwing water on the fire will cause a puff of steam to rise, signalling your presence. However if you take a blade like so," she knelt beside him, drawing her kukri and stabbing it into the earth beside the flame as she looked up at him to ensure he was watching. Then, with a deft twist of her wrist, she upheaved the dirt onto the now-decently grown flame. The fire was immediately engulfed and smothered, leaving no trace of its presence outside of the hole beside it she had created and the mound of dirt where its flame had been licking hungrily at the wooden branches. "Not a wisp of smoke, no steam, nothing." She concluded, standing once more and looking him over, "You have a blade, don't you?"

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious started to forget the feeling of idiocy and instead watched in awe at the graceful way in which Lo was teaching him. Her soft voice drew him in and made him feel like he was worth teaching; worth something. He nodded his head along to whatever she was doing, taking everything in and committing it to memory. When he realised, in fact, that there had been no smoke cloud, no puff of steam, he was on the verge of applauding the elven woman. Maybe he'd had to apply that method in his home so as not to smoke out the kitchen again.

In answer to Lo's question, Thelonious grinned. "Of course I do," and he proceeded to unsheathe the knife from around his waist and untuck the one from within his boot. To try and prove himself to her once again, he mimicked her exact movement of digging the earth up and with the same flick of his wrist, covered the already dead embers of his once perfect fire. A look of concentration had passed across Thelonious' face, one in which he caught his bottom lip between his teeth and his eyebrows furrowed slightly in the middle. Looking back up at Lo however, he slowly let go of his lip and his face brightened, grinning widely up at her, dimples forming on his cheeks. "Took me a while to save up for this blade," he pointed to the one he'd unsheathed from his belt. "But, this one was my fathers old one." He wiggled it slightly before slipping it back in to his boot.

 

[Arialianna]

Aanor'Loren smiled at him, wiping the residual dirt from her own blade as she admired the keen edge of the curved blade. "As was mine. He made one for me when I was seven, but I've since grown out of that little thing." She laughed, but couldn't tell what had prompted such a reaction. Rather than dwell on memories of her father, she hopped lightly to her feet, pulling the bow from her back as she looked to Thelonious with a sort of expectation in her eyes, "Well now, let's see if we can get you to hit a target you aim for today." She softened the remark with a gentle smile, hoping he wouldn't take it too harshly. Then, as if to accentuate her point, she carefully drew three arrows from her quiver, twirling them in her left hand as she waited for his response.

 

[This Is Me]

Thelonious' eyes widened when her ringing laugh filled the clearing they stood in. In all his laugh, he'd only ever heard a laugh like hers coming from his mother; carefree and melodic. Whenever he'd gone into the town the laughs had all been fake; the other elves either went stony and quiet whenever he approached or laughed at him behind his back. But Lo's laugh, well, to Thelonious that had seemed free, it was a laugh that accompanied a good time or memory.

Clearing his thoughts, he chuckled at Lo's remark. He appreciated the smile she sent his way, it didn't make him feel too much like a failure. Copying her actions once again he jumped to his feet, slung his bow from his shoulder and held, not three arrows, but just one in his hand. Thelonious was ready to learn. "Let's go. What are we aiming at? Well, what am I aiming at? You'd be able to hit it no matter." He chuckled and grinned over to Lo, his cheeks tinged red once more from his babbling.

 

[Arialianna]

Her keen elven eyes looked him up and down, her green eyes bright with amusement as she slowed the spinning arrows to a halt in her nimble fingers. "You tell me. What can you see here that you might hit?" She walked a slow circle around him, her eyes flickering constantly to new things, taking in his form, his hold on his weapon, and the way he watched her as she walked out from in front of him. As she waited, she also scanned the clearing, looking for what targets she might have chosen in his position. "Maybe pick three, and we'll see what skill we're dealing with before we move on to any sort of lessons on the subject." Her lips turned up slightly into a gentle smile as the breeze picked up once more and she inhaled deeply of the forest air. There was nothing she loved quite as much as the forest home she had been scouting for years. With a deft turn on her heel, she turned herself to face Thelonious with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She had picked out her own targets and wondered if he might choose similarly.